Cell-laden Prionace glauca Skin Collagen-based 3D Printed Scaffolds for the Engineering of Mineralized Tissues

Abstract

Composite scaffolds, namely collagen-apatite based materials, have been widely employed in the biomedical field envisioning bone tissue regeneration, commonly based on the direct mixing of calcium phosphates powder and collagen solutions or scaffolds mineralization by immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). However, direct mixing is an uncontrolled method and can result in a lack of homogeneity of particle distribution, while SBF method normally requires long times of incubation and mineralization is mainly limited to surface, which might result in a limited bioactivity. Alternatively, we propose for the first time the in situ mineralization of Prionace glauca skin collagen (PGColl) and its use on inks for the 3D printing of encapsulated cells envisioning mineralized tissue applications