AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ijb.1589
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

3D bioprinting of adhesive, anti-bacterial alginate/polyacrylamide-based customized boluses using digital light processing for radiotherapy applications

Ying Lu1,2 ,  Xiaomin Zhang3 ,  Youjie Rong3 ,  Yannan Xu2,4 ,  Xiaohong Yao3 ,  Guobao Pang2 ,  Qinying Shi2,4 ,  Xiaobo Huang3* ,  Meiwen An1* ,  Jianbo Song2*
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1 Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
2 Radiation Therapy Center, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
3 Materials Science and Engineering Department, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
4 Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory for Translational Nuclear Medicine and Precision Protection, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
IJB 2024, 10(2), 1589 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.1589
Submitted: 12 August 2023 | Accepted: 13 October 2023 | Published: 9 January 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Boluses are a type of materials used to enhance skin dose during the treatment of superficial lesions. However, the current commercially available boluses cannot fully conform to irregular skin surfaces due to their uniform thickness, thereby compromising the efficacy of radiotherapy. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting boasts a huge potential in the creation of customized boluses, but the use of this technique is limited by shortcomings of the prevailing materials, such as their indirect printability and substance rigidity. As a potential substitute, hydrogels possessing a tensile modulus comparable to that of skin tissue are optimal candidates for customizing boluses. In this study, we developed a photocurable bioink for multifunctional boluses using digital light processing (DLP). Alginate, acrylamide, polyethylene glycol diacrylate, lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate, and protocatechuic acid were synergistically combined to fabricate the bioink. The bolus printed using this bioink was endowed with enhanced toughness, superior adhesion, tissue equivalence, anti-dehydration and anti-bacterial properties, as well as excellent biocompatibility and radiation performance. In conclusion, the DLP-based 3D bioprinting of the proposed bioink can provide an avenue for obtaining personalized boluses in radiotherapy treatment of superficial tumors.

Keywords
Photocurable 3D bioprinting
Composite gel
Multifunctional bolus
Radiotherapy
Funding
The authors wish to express their gratitude for the support received from the Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (Number: 20210302123416), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Number: 31870934), and the Central Leading Science and Technology Development Foundation of Shanxi Province (Number: YDZJSX20231A064).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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