TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing mesh size and diffusion of alginate bioinks
T2 - A crucial factor for successful bioprinting functional pancreatic islets
AU - Hermanns, Carolin
AU - de Vries, Rick H.W.
AU - Rademakers, Timo
AU - Stell, Adam
AU - de Bont, Denise F.A.
AU - da Silva Filho, Omar Paulino
AU - Jetten, Marlon J.
AU - Mota, Carlos D.
AU - Mohammed, Sami G.
AU - Vaithilingam, Vijayaganapathy
AU - van Apeldoorn, Aart A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Francis Morgan for his help with rheological measurements, dr. Floor Ruiter for GPC measurements. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Grant no. 3-SRA-2016-256-S-B ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors
PY - 2025/10/1
Y1 - 2025/10/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Bioprinting
KW - FRAP
KW - Rheology
KW - Type 1 diabetes mellitus
U2 - 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102175
DO - 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102175
M3 - Article
SN - 2590-0064
VL - 34
JO - Materials today. Bio
JF - Materials today. Bio
M1 - 102175
ER -