Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (30): 4904-4911.doi: 10.12307/2023.552

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Preparation and applications of decellularized extracellular matrix bioink in cardiovascular fields

Jiang Honghui, Kong Yuanyuan, Liu Jing, Wang Zhihong   

  1. Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300192, China
  • Received:2022-08-12 Accepted:2022-10-10 Online:2023-10-28 Published:2023-04-03
  • Contact: Wang Zhihong, Associate researcher, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300192, China Liu Jing, Associate researcher, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300192, China
  • About author:Jiang Honghui, Master candidate, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300192, China
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), No. 32071356 (to WZH); National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), No. 82272158 (to LJ); the Special Fund of Central University Basic Research Funds, No. 3332022069 (to LJ); Medical and Health Science and Technology Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, No. 2022-I2M-1-023 (to WZH)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: With the aid of computer-assisted technology, 3D bioprinting technology uses bioink loaded with living cells to achieve tissue organ construction, which brings new hope for cardiovascular tissue engineering construction with its high freedom of design, personalization and manufacturing flexibility. Bioinks are the key to 3D bioprinting technology and have been a hot research topic in the field of biomaterials and tissue regeneration in recent years. Decellularized matrix materials are a promising bioink with low immunogenicity, maintaining the original extracellular matrix components and fibrous structure, and facilitating the survival and expansion of tissue-specific cells.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the preparation and performance characterization methods of decellularized extracellular matrix bioink and its application in cardiovascular field, which is an important reference for the study of decellularized extracellular matrix bioink application in cardiovascular field. 
METHODS: The Chinese and English search terms “decellularization, bioink, 3D print, vessel, cardiac” were used in the CNKI and PubMed databases, respectively, and 82 articles were finally included for analysis. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The basic preparation steps of decellularized extracellular matrix bioink include decellularization of biomaterials to obtain decellularized extracellular matrix, enzymatic digestion of decellularized extracellular matrix, adjustment of pH and osmotic pressure of digesting solution, and mixture with decellularized extracellular matrix pregel with cells. (2) The basic performance characterization of decellularized extracellular matrix bioink mainly includes decellularized matrix components, rheological properties, microstructure, bioactivity, mechanical properties, and biodegradability. (3) In terms of blood vessels, researchers have prepared decellularized extracellular matrix vessels with improved mechanical properties and obtained multilayer small-diameter vessels by using advanced printing techniques, material composites, and sacrificial layers, but these printing processes are complex, the vessels lack animal experimental validation, the culture conditions of multilayer vessels are not optimized, and important tests such as suture strength and burst pressure have not been performed to meet the required performance of medical devices. (4) In the area of myocardial repair, researchers confirmed that decellularized extracellular matrix bioinks are more advantageous in myocardial repair compared to collagen and GelMA. Meanwhile, researchers focused on the design of decellularized extracellular matrix myocardial patches by enhancing the mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of the material and building a microvascular network, and these patches showed some potentials for the treatment of myocardial infarction. However, no breakthrough has been made in the question of the influence of seed cell parameters (type, area density and number, etc.) on myocardial patches and the electrical coupling between myocardial patches and host tissues to meet the required performance of medical devices. (5) Therefore, although decellularized extracellular matrix bioinks have shown some potentials in constructing cardiovascular structures, decellularized extracellular matrix-based printed vascular and myocardial patches are still in the laboratory stage and have to overcome a series of problems before entering clinical applications. 

Key words: cardiovascular disease, 3D bioprinting, extracellular matrix, decellularized extracellular matrix, low immunogenicity, bioink, vessel, cardiac tissue, cardiac patch, myocardial infarction

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