3D Bioprintable Gt‐Alg‐MMT Nano Bioink for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Damage to articular cartilage is irreversible, and its self‐healing ability is minimal. The construction of articular cartilage in tissue engineering requires suitable biomaterials as scaffolds to provide a 3D natural microenvironment for the development and growth of articular cartilage. This study aims to explore the feasibility of Gt‐Alg‐MMT (gelatin/sodium alginate/montmorillonite) nanocomposite hydrogel as a 3D printing bioink and its applicability in 3D printing cartilage scaffolds. The optimization results showed that the bioink with the ratio of 2Gt‐5Alg‐5MMT had the best 3D printability and mechanical strength, and the optimal 3D printing pressure and printing speed were 0.29 MPa and 2.5 mm/s, respectively. The performance test showed that the 3D printed 2Gt‐5Alg‐5MMT scaffold has a honeycomb porous network structure, with porosity and water content of more than 90%, static compressive elastic modulus of 125 ± 9.6 kPa, hysteresis of cyclic compression of 60%–80%, and has viscoelasticity, structural stability, and thermal stability close to cartilage tissue in three scanning modes of dynamic strain, dynamic frequency, and dynamic temperature. In addition, Live/Dead staining experiments showed that the 2Gt‐5Alg‐5MMT scaffold has excellent biocompatibility with ADTC5 cells. Therefore, this 3D‐printed 2Gt‐5Alg‐5MMT scaffold is expected to be a candidate material for promoting articular cartilage regeneration.