Title:

Sacrificial Gelatin to Pattern Microstructures in Dextran Materials

Developing biocompatible scaffolds that recapitulate the native extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial to advancing tissue engineering and promoting vascular tissue formation and cellular regeneration. Here, a biomimetic hydrogel scaffold composed of dextran methacrylate (Dex-MA) and gelatin is presented, mimicking the chemical and mechanical properties of the ECM. Mechanical stability is achieved through UV-initiated photopolymerization, which crosslinks Dex-MA chains via free radical polymerization. Gelatin is incorporated as a sacrificial phase, and upon thermal removal, an interconnected porous network that facilitates cell migration and vascular growth is generated. The target structure is characterized by a continuous morphology in which a gelatin-derived pore network is suspended within a continuous Dex-MA matrix. To identify conditions that favor this structure, gel formation parameters were varied to evaluate the resulting morphologies. All formulations demonstrated biocompatibility; however, the desired continuous domain was achieved selectively. Specifically, increased Dex-MA concentration combined with reduced gelatin content most consistently produced the target morphology. These findings establish a tunable scaffold platform with demonstrated capacity to support living tissue for wound healing and tissue regeneration applications.

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