Engineering Tridimensional Hydrogel Tissue and Organ Phantoms with Tunable Springiness

Biomimicking organ phantoms with vivid biological structures and soft and slippery features are essential for in vitro biomedical applications yet remain hither to unmet challenges in their fabrication such as balancing between spatial structural complexity and matchable mechanical properties. Herein, 3D printable tissue-mimicking elastomeric double network hydrogels with tailorable stiffness are evolved to idiosyncratically match diverse biological soft tissues by regulating the compositions of hydrogel matrix and the density of metal coordination bonds. Relying on digital light processing 3D printing, various mechanically tunable biomimetic volumetric hydrogel organ constructs with structural complexity and fidelity, including kidney, brain, heart, liver, stomach, lung, trachea, intestine, and even the intricate vascularized tissues, are fabricated faultlessly. Proof-of-concept 3D printed hydrogel heart and liver phantoms provide sophisticated internal channels and cavity structures and external realistic anatomical architectures that more closely mimic native organs. For the in vitro application demonstration, a 3D printed hydrogel brain phantom with tortuous cerebral arteries and slippery characters serves as an effective neurosurgical training platform for realistic simulation of endovascular interventions. This platform offers a means to construct mechanically precisely tunable hydrogel-based biomimetic organ phantoms that are expected to be used in surgical training, medical device testing, and organs-on-chips.