Date of Graduation
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Elsaadany, Mostafa
Abstract
Bone regeneration remains a critical challenge, especially in cases of irregularly-shaped or complex defects that cannot heal on its on. The purpose of this study is to develop and analyze the mechanical properties and cell viability of 3D bioprinted Collagen-Genipin coated Polycaprolactone (COL-Gen-PCL) scaffolds for bone regeneration and treatment purposes. With an increased need for more innovative, effective bone injury treatments, a bioprinted scaffold may pose a solution. 3D bioprinting has recently become a hot topic in tissue engineering because of the complexity and accuracy it can provide during the biofabrication process. This aspect is important in structures like bone where injury could come in distinct shapes or sizes depending on the situation and patient. To investigate both bioprinting parameters and a novel mix of materials, 3D bioprinted polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were coated with collagen (COL) and crosslinked with Genipin (Gen) to potentially improve cellular viability and mechanical strength respectively. In this study, all three components were combined to optimize structural stability without compromising MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cell differentiation. While PCL-Col scaffolds showed higher cell viability and ALP activity, suggesting faster early proliferation and differentiation, PCL-Col-Gen scaffolds contained higher total protein contents and increased expression of osteogenic differentiation markers. Increased gene expression in genipin-crosslinked samples shows a 3968.78 fold increase in ALP and a 68.32-fold increase in RunX2 compared to uncrosslinked PCL-Col samples. Despite lower early differentiation activity, the results suggest that genipin may shift the temporal dynamics of osteogenesis and promote mid to late-stage differentiation processes, which is important for not only bone repair, but also permanent tissue integration. This study characterizes 3D bioprinted PCL-Col-Gen scaffolds for applications in bone tissue engineering and regeneration to improve treatment options and allow for a broader and more complex scale of injuries.
Keywords
Polycaprolactone; 3D bioprinted scaffolds; Collagen; Genipin; Bone Regeneration
Citation
Navarro, A., & Elsaadany, M. (2025). The Development of 3D Bioprinted Collagen-Genipin Coated Polycaprolactone Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration and Treatment. Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/bmeguht/166
