Biofilm-Antagonist Ginger-Based 3D-Printable Photoresins for Complex Implant Designs Exhibiting Advanced Multifunctional Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Since the discovery of 3D-printing, it has revolutionized personalized drug delivery and implants by enabling intricate, customizable designs. However, key challenges remain, including complex design, host immune response, biofilm formation, and infection-induced inflammation at the implant site. This work offers, first-ever, unique ginger-based 3D-printable resins by chemically modifying Zingerol (Zing-OH, a ginger-based component) into photopolymerizable compositions that can print high-resolution complex designs via DLP 3D-printing. Briefly, the Zing-OH is amended via different functional group backbones, resulting in Zing-OH-based resins (ether, ester, and urethane) and their respective prints. Moreover, the Zing-OH prints’ thermal, mechanical, and biodegradation properties can be fine-tuned by simply customizing the backbone. Furthermore, the shape memory efficacy and the human bone (nasal cartilage, vestibular, cortical, femur, etc.) mimicking mechanical properties (exhibiting 2–200 MPa compressive strength) makes them more enticing. In tandem, the prints are also hemocompatible as well as cyto-friendly against human skin (HaCaT) and lung (BEAS-2B) cells, and mouse fibroblast (NIH-3T3) cells. Concurrently, an in vivo biocompatibility study in a rat model indicates that the printed materials are biocompatible, showing no signs of severe inflammatory response over a 28-day period. More importantly, the outstanding anti-biofilm and antioxidant efficacies of the Zing-OH prints make them more appealing due to their potential to prevent implant rejection, thus making them promising tools for bone-tissue engineering (BTE) applications.