3D bioprinting is the printing of biocompatible materials, cells, growth factors, and the other supporting materials necessary to yield functional complex living tissues. 3D bioprinting has been used to generate several different types of tissue such as skin, bone, vascular grafts, and cartilage structures. Based upon the desired properties, different materials and formulations can be used to generate both hard and soft tissues. While several 3D printing methods exist, due to the sensitivity of the materials used, extrusion-based methods with bioinks are most commonly employed.

HAMA-AlgMA-Gel bioink formulation is derived from natural polymers – Hyaluronic acid, alginate, and gelatin. The natural polymer widely used in tissue engineering, hyaluronic acid, also known as sodium hyaluronate or hyaluronan, is an anionic, nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG). Alginate also known as sodium alginate or alginic acid, is a polysaccharide widely used in tissue engineering obtained from brown algae. Gelatin contains bioactive peptide sequences similar to a native extracellular matrix which promotes integrin-mediated cell adhesion and MMP sensitive enzymatic degradation which are essential for cellular functions such as migration, proliferation, and differentiation. TissueFab^® - HAMA AlgMA Gel-UV bioink formulation is optimized for 3D bioprinting of tissues and constructs using an extrusion-based 3D bioprinter. TissueFab^® - HAMA AlgMA Gel-UV bioink formulation can be used to bioprint cell-laden hydrogels in the desired shape without any supporting material and can be crosslinked in one step using exposure to UV light for further culture and maturation of cells for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.

TISSUEFAB is a registered trademark of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany