Evaluation of Sericin Containing Gel as a Photoinitiator-Free Printable Biomaterial

Current major challenge in three-dimensional (3D) printing of biological tissues is lack of proper printable biomaterials. Development of 3D printable biomaterials for safely and efficiently printing biological substitute is challenging. Most of the hydrogel-based biomaterials include photoinitiator to be crosslinked by either ultraviolet or visible light to obtain mechanically stable gel. However, use of crosslinking chemical has concerns for its potential harm to biological substances. Our study aimed to formulate and optimize a new printable biomaterial without any crosslinking chemical, still having appropriate rheological, chemical, and biological properties. We investigated the potential of a silk protein, sericin, which is known to be mechanically stable and has anti-inflammatory and angiogenic properties. The results demonstrated that a sericin-based hydrogel can be an excellent material as it is easy to print, gelling, not toxic, stable, and cost effective.