AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026330356
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Three-dimensional bioprinting of biomimetic bilayer hydrogels with engineered mechanical and cellular heterogeneity for wound healing

Jiwon Hwang1 ,  Yeowon Kim1 ,  Joon Seo Park1 ,  Minhyung Kong1 ,  Hyun Seung Kim1 ,  Kuen Yong Lee1,2*
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1 Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul , Republic of Korea
2 Institute for Bioengineering and Biopharmaceutical Research, Hanyang University, Seoul , Republic of Korea
Received: 30 April 2026 | Revised: 12 August 2026 | Accepted: 25 August 2026 | Published online: 25 August 2026
© 2026 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

In view of the global burden of wound care on healthcare systems, there is an urgent need for advanced therapeutic solutions to promote wound healing. Although conventional bilayer dressings contain layers with predefined mechanical properties, their mechanical architecture is static and may be vulnerable to disruption during deformation. To address this limitation, we present a self-healing biomimetic bilayer hydrogel system that utilizes hyaluronic acid (HA) derivatives to emulate the mechanical and cellular heterogeneity of native skin tissue. The hydrogels were prepared by synthesizing carbodihydrazide-conjugated HA (HA-CDH) and crosslinking it with oxidized diol-modified HA in the presence of adipic acid dihydrazide. By adjusting the HA-CDH concentration, the bilayer hydrogel stiffness was optimized to effectively replicate the distinct mechanical properties of the epidermis and dermis. This bilayer structure with cell-specific stiffness and distinct cell types promoted cell-specific proliferation and upregulated key wound-healing markers, including genes encoding collagen type I and α-smooth muscle actin. Furthermore, the hydrogel exhibited excellent shear-thinning and dynamic self-healing properties, ensuring high shape fidelity during extrusion-based three-dimensional bioprinting of customized wound patches. In a full-thickness mouse wound model, these cell-laden bilayer patches promoted wound repair by significantly suppressing initial inflammatory responses, enhancing neovascularization, and facilitating balanced extracellular matrix remodeling without fibrotic thickening. The proposed self-healing bilayer hydrogel system stands as a promising, structurally dynamic solution for effective wound healing and has potential for further applications in tissue engineering.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Hydrazide-modified hyaluronate
Oxidized hyaluronate
Heterogeneity
Self-healing properties
3D bioprinting
Funding
This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (grant no.: RS-2024-00355200).
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