Hermanns Carolin, de Vries Rick H W, Rademakers Timo, Stell Adam, de Bont Denise F A, da Silva Filho Omar Paulino, Jetten Marlon J, Mota Carlos D, Mohammed Sami G, Vaithilingam Vijayaganapathy, van Apeldoorn Aart A
Department of Cell Biology - Inspired Tissue Engineering (cBITE), MERLN Institute for Technology Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
MERLN Institute for Technology Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Mater Today Bio. 2025 Aug 5;34:102175. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102175. eCollection 2025 Oct.
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has been utilised for the encapsulation of pancreatic islets for potentially treating type 1 diabetes. A crucial factor in selecting a cell compatible bioink, that maintains islet functionality, is the mesh size and diffusion capacity of the bioink. In this study, we present a screening strategy for alginate hydrogel formulations in three-dimensional bioprinting, utilizing the fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method and measuring the mesh size of the hydrogels. Subsequently, the 1.5 % alginate formulation that had been selected was used to bioprint the INS1E cell line, primary rat islets, or human islets. It was demonstrated that cell viability and functionality were maintained in all cell sources. This was evidenced by the observation that bioprinted pancreatic islets exhibited a response to physiological glucose levels. The present study indicates that both FRAP and hydrogel mesh size measurements are effective tools for predicting the diffusion of hormones through a hydrogel. These measures should therefore be incorporated into future screenings of hydrogel compositions for the 3D bioprinting of islets.
三维（3D）生物打印已被用于封装胰岛，以潜在地治疗1型糖尿病。选择一种能维持胰岛功能的细胞相容性生物墨水的一个关键因素是生物墨水的网格大小和扩散能力。在本研究中，我们提出了一种用于三维生物打印中藻酸盐水凝胶配方的筛选策略，利用光漂白后荧光恢复（FRAP）方法并测量水凝胶的网格大小。随后，将所选择的1.5%藻酸盐配方用于生物打印INS1E细胞系、原代大鼠胰岛或人胰岛。结果表明，所有细胞来源的细胞活力和功能均得以维持。生物打印的胰岛对生理葡萄糖水平有反应这一观察结果证明了这一点。本研究表明，FRAP和水凝胶网格大小测量都是预测激素通过水凝胶扩散的有效工具。因此，这些措施应纳入未来用于胰岛三维生物打印的水凝胶组合物筛选中。
