Bioprinting of Stable Bionic Interfaces Using Piezoresistive Hydrogel Organoelectronics.

Bionic tissues offer an exciting frontier in biomedical research by integrating biological cells with artificial electronics, such as sensors. One critical hurdle is the development of artificial electronics that can mechanically harmonize with biological tissues, ensuring a robust interface for effective strain transfer and local deformation sensing. In this study, we introduce a highly tissue-integrative, soft mechanical sensor fabricated from a composite piezoresistive hydrogel. The composite not only exhibits exceptional mechanical properties, with elongation at the point of fracture reaching up to 680%, but also maintains excellent biocompatibility across multiple cell types. Furthermore, the material exhibits bioadhesive qualities, facilitating stable cell adhesion to its surface. A unique advantage of our formulation is the compatibility with 3D bioprinting, an essential technique for fabricating stable interfaces. We successfully bioprinted a multi-material sensorized 3D bionic construct and compared it to structures produced via hydrogel casting. In contrast to cast constructs, the bioprinted ones displayed a high (87%) cell viability, preserved differentiation ability, and structural integrity of the sensor-tissue interface throughout the tissue development duration of 10 days. With easy fabrication and effective soft tissue integration, this composite holds significant promise for various biomedical applications, including implantable electronics and organ-on-a-chip technologies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.