AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025500515
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

Development and assessment of a DMSO-free antifreeze GelMA hydrogel for integrated 3D bioprinting and cryopreservation

Xin Li1,2,3,4 Yukun Cao2,3,4 Chengyuan Li1 Chenxi Liu2 Jia Tan2,5 Xinli Zhou2,3,4* Yang Yu6* Xi Xia1*
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1 Center for Reproductive Medicine, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen Peking University-the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Medical Center, Shenzhen 518036, China
2 Institute of Biothermal Science & Technology, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
3 Shanghai Co-innovation Center for Energy Therapy of Tumors, Shanghai 200093, China
4 Shanghai Technical Service Platform for Cryopreservation of Biological Resources, Shanghai 200093, China
5 Key Laboratory for Tissue Engineering of Jiangxi Province, School of Medical Information Engineering, Ganzhou 341000, China
6 Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Received: 10 December 2025 | Accepted: 9 February 2026 | Published online: 20 February 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s).. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

3D bioprinting enables the fabrication of engineered tissues, but cell damage during printing and limitations in long-term preservation hinder practical applications. Traditional cryoprotectants, such as DMSO, introduce cytotoxicity and require complex removal, restricting immediate tissue usability. Here, we present an integrated extrusion-based bioprinting and DMSO-free antifreeze hydrogel strategy to produce cell-laden constructs with high post-thaw viability and proliferative capacity. Systematic optimization of bioink composition (6% L-proline with varying GelMA), extrusion parameters, and crosslinking conditions enabled high-fidelity scaffold fabrication while preserving cell viability and proliferation. Numerical simulations guided the maximum printable heights for fibers of different diameters, supporting construct scalability. Storing cell-laden 3D-printed scaffolds in cryovials at −80 °C effectively maintained high cell viability. Cells in 3D scaffolds exhibited superior post-thaw proliferation compared with 2D culture, and the platform was validated with C2C12 myoblasts, achieving high survival and robust recovery of proliferative capacity. This study establishes a practical and versatile framework for integrating bioprinting and cryopreservation to support the generation of cell-laden constructs with preserved viability and structural integrity for regenerative medicine applications.

Keywords
3D bioprinting
Cryopreservation
Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)
Antifreeze hydrogel
DMSO-free
Printability optimization
Funding
This research was supported by Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen (No. SZSM202211043).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing