International journal of biological macromoleculesSep 10, 2025

Creating a three-layer gelatin-alginate bone and cartilage tissue with curved shape using advanced 3D bioprinting

Regenerative Health Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jan 6, 2026

Abstract

The triple-layer GelMA-alginate-based osteochondral scaffold (TCOS) achieved a compressive strength of 64.84 ± 18.13 kPa.

TCOS integrates three layers designed for different functions: a bone layer promoting blood vessel growth, an interface layer preventing blood vessel invasion, and a cartilage layer with a curved structure.
The average pore size of TCOS-I was found to be 1.63 ± 0.85 μm, which is smaller than the average size of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), suggesting it may effectively prevent vascular invasion.
Mechanical testing showed that TCOS-C's properties fall within the physiological range of native cartilage.
Cell experiments indicated favorable biocompatibility of the TCOS scaffold.
HUVECs on TCOS-S formed tubular and mesh-like structures, suggesting potential for supporting blood vessel formation.

Simplified

Osteochondral defects caused by trauma, obesity, tumors, and degenerative osteoarthropathies severely impair patients' quality of life. Multilayer tissue engineering scaffolds offer promising strategies for osteochondral repair by enhancing structural biomimicry. In this study, a triple-layer GelMA-alginate-based osteochondral scaffold (TCOS) was fabricated using an enhanced multi-axis, multi-process, multi-material 3D bioprinting system (MAPM-BPS). The scaffold integrates extrusion and electrospinning to construct three distinct layers: a subchondral bone layer (TCOS-S) promoting angiogenesis, an osteochondral interface layer (TCOS-I) preventing vascular invasion, and a cartilage layer (TCOS-C) with a biomimetic spatially curved structure. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that TCOS-I had an average pore size of 1.63 ± 0.85 μm (max: 5.94 μm), smaller than HUVECs (14-15 μm), thus potentially preventing blood vessel ingrowth from TCOS-S into TCOS-C. Mechanical testing revealed that TCOS-C achieved a compressive strength of 64.84 ± 18.13 kPa and a modulus of 27.56 ± 7.87 kPa, within the physiological range of native cartilage. Cell experiments demonstrated favorable biocompatibility. Furthermore, HUVECs cultured on TCOS-S exhibited tubular and mesh-like structures, indicating potential for vascularization. These results suggest that the TCOS scaffold fabricated via MAPM-BPS offers structural, mechanical, and biological advantages for integrated osteochondral regeneration.

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Competing interests

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

PubMed

Creating a three-layer gelatin-alginate bone and cartilage tissue with curved shape using advanced 3D bioprinting

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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