Biomanufacturing of heterogeneous hydrogel structures with patterned electrically conductive regions

In this paper, we present the biomanufacturing of patterned electrically conductive and cell-embedded hydrogel structures, in which selectively patterned regions of hydrogels including carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and NIH 3T3 cells were demonstrated. We employed a recently developed method of multimaterial additive manufacturing of hydrogels, by using an aspiration-on-demand protocol. The printed structures were characterized by electrical resistivity measurements and microscopy techniques. The results showed that by selectively patterning the electrical conductivity, each region can be considered as a resistor in series circuit. Moreover, due to the novel approach in assembly of cell-patterned segments in low viscosity, the cell viability in printed structures was high after printing. The prospects of combining the functionalities of two fabricated structures were further discussed and highlighted. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.