Figure 3: Preparation of photocrosslinkable dECM bioinks and characterization of printed dECM constructs.
(a) Lyophilized decellularized tissues were cryomilled and pepsin solubilized followed by a second lyophilization and cryomilling step to yield a fine dECM powder that can be reconstituted with 1X PBS. (b) Schematic of the crosslinking mechanism to form a printed dECM hydrogel construct for mechanically soft heart and liver tissue constructs through the incorporation of GelMA (c,d) Plots of the compressive Young’s modulus as a function of printing exposure time. All data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. * = significant between exposure times (p< 0.05). (n=4). (e) Resolution of printed dECM bioinks ranging in 250, 125, 60, and 30 μm width lines (left to right). Scale bar, 250 μm. (f,g) Example of a printed hierarchal vascular network with detailed features of complex branched structures. Scale bar, 500 μm and 250 μm, respectively.