Natural polymer-based bioinks exploiting internal gelation mechanism for cardiac tissue engineering

3D bioprinting techniques are rapidly increasing their relevance in the field of tissue engineering as potential tools for the fabrication of complex 3D structures that could find applications as therapeutic patches or in vitro models. In this work, we investigated the use of alginate and gelatin based bioink for cardiac tissue engineering. The hydrogels were developed through an internal gelation mechanism, allowing 3D printing of uniform self-supporting fibres without the need for post- crosslinking or the use of support materials. Varying gelatin content, bioinks with tuneable rheological properties were developed. Biological validation showed that the bioinks were biocompatible and promoted cell adhesion