AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025090075
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

Development, characterization and in vitro evaluation of TEMPO-oxidized microcellulose-based biomaterial inks for 3D bioprinting applications

Feiyang Wang1 Catherine George1,2 Lea Gobelin3 Alina Violeta Ursu1 Purnimajayasree Ramesh2,4 Arunkumar Palaniappan4 Cédric Delattre1,5*
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1 Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
2 School of biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632-014, India
3 Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, Polytech Clermont, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
4 Human Organ Manufacturing Engineering (HOME) Lab, Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632-014, India
5 Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 Rue Descartes, 75005 Paris, France
Submitted: 28 February 2025 | Accepted: 16 April 2025 | Published: 17 April 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/ )
Abstract

3D-bioprinting is widely used in tissue engineering due to its customizability, avoidance of allogeneic rejection, and no risk of disease transmission. Cellulose is a renewable natural polymer, prized as an excellent bioink due to its non-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and cost-effectiveness.  2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO) oxidized microcellulose, that was subjected to homogenization. The biomaterial ink was further characterized using FTIR, conductivity studies, and rheometric analyses. Subsequently, scaffolds were fabricated using 3D bioprinting, and cell viability was evaluated through cell culture on the scaffold. The optimization of the oxidation process revealed that a 6-hour oxidation achieved the highest degree of oxidation, exhibiting superior viscosity and printing characteristics compared to other oxidation times. Following a straightforward 6-hour scale-up, successful fabrication of a 3D bio-printed scaffold. Cell experiments demonstrated excellent cell adhesion and viability on the scaffold. Our findings demonstrate that oxidized microcellulose serves as a new bio-based, non-toxic, structurally stable, and cell-compatible ink for 3D-bioprinting in tissue engineering applications.

Keywords
3D bioprinting
Tissue engineering
Cellulose
TEMPO
Cell viability
Funding
This research was funded by the CHINA SCHOLARSHIP COUNCIL, grant number 202208330024
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