Development of Fibrinogen-based Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting Motor Neuron Progenitor Cells

Abstract

In the United States, there are more than 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury each year. No effective treatment is available for these injuries except high-expense lifetime care. Here we introduce a fibrinogen-based bioink for the purpose of 3D bioprinting motor neuron progenitor cells (MNPCs) into hydrogel scaffolds as a potential treatment for major spinal cord injury. While other bioinks are commercially available, such as gelatin methylacrylate (GELMA) and Matrigel, a murine Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) sarcoma extract, these bioinks are toxic to MNPCs and are not fully defined, respectively. For this reason, a fully defined bioink that is not toxic to MNPCs must be developed. The results suggest that the bioink developed for 3D bioprinting supports viability and differentiation of MNPCs, but the printing process that MNPCs go through while being extruded into hydrogel scaffolds must further be optimized to increase MNPC viability and differentiation.