AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025090074
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Biological 3D-printed viscoelastic scaffolds with controllable stress relaxation rates

Liqin Zhao1 ,  Danyu Yao1,2* ,  Zixuan Xia1 ,  Ling Wang1,2* ,  Mingen Xu1,2*
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1 School of Automation, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
2 Key Laboratory of Medical Information and 3D Bioprinting of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
IJB, 025090074 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJB025090074
Submitted: 28 February 2025 | Accepted: 19 March 2025 | Published: 19 March 2025
© 2025 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

 The natural extracellular matrix (ECM) exhibits remarkable viscoelasticity and stress relaxation. Constructing viscoelastic scaffolds that can precisely control the stress relaxation rate and possess good biocompatibility is a key challenge in the design of tissue engineering scaffolds. Understanding the factors influencing the viscoelasticity of scaffolds and their mechanisms, as well as implementing comprehensive regulatory strategies based on this understanding, are effective methods for precisely controlling the stress relaxation rate. Current research on viscoelastic scaffolds mainly focuses on the regulation of bulk hydrogel viscoelasticity, while the impact of 3D printing parameters on stress relaxation time remains underexplored. In this study, we controlled the structure and morphology of silk fibroin to obtain a crystalline silk fibroin fiber (SL) solution, which was then mixed with gelatin solution to achieve high-precision printing of low-concentration (<2%) silk fibroin. Based on this, we explored the effects of printing angle, fiber diameter, and porosity on the stress relaxation rate and elastic modulus of the scaffold. Specifically, as porosity increases, the relaxation rate tends to rise, while the elastic modulus decreases. Conversely, as the printing angle and fiber diameter increase, the relaxation rate significantly decreases, and the elastic modulus correspondingly increases. We verified these effects using alginate-based bioink, demonstrating the universality of the influence of printing parameters on scaffold viscoelasticity. Additionally, we constructed scaffolds with similar elastic moduli but different stress relaxation rates and investigated their effects on cell growth, thereby confirming the good biocompatibility of viscoelastic scaffolds. This study not only provides a theoretical basis for precisely controlling the stress relaxation rate of 3D-printed viscoelastic scaffolds but also offers new insights for the design and optimization of tissue engineering scaffolds.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
3D printing scaffold
Printing parameters
Stress relaxation
Tissue engineering
Funding
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFA1104600); the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LY24A020006); the Key Research and Development Foundation of Zhejiang Province (2024C03068); the Key Research and Development Foundation of Hangzhou City (2024SZD1B07; 20231203A09); and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12002112).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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