Fabrication of ulvan based structures for cell culture in wound healing

Progress within the field of biofabrication, and specifically additive manufacturing, is dependent on the development of hydrogel formulations and printing strategies. Biofabrication is an important tool for the creation of engineered tissue constructs, resembling native tissue in the positioning of biologically relevant materials, biocompatibility, mechanical behaviour, and reproducibility. The objective of this study was to fabricate constructs for wound healing purposes mimicking the natural state of healthy skin with an ulvan based material. In this study several different printing strategies have been explored, implementing Poloxamer 407, a thermosensitive block copolymer with favourable mechanical properties, as a support for the printing of modified ulvan, a biologically favourable material. By implementing the different printing strategies, an attempt was made to develop a biofabrication approach to allow for all stages of the bioprinting process.