Viscoelastic characterization of biomaterials: bridging the insights from acoustics and rheology

The advent of tissue engineering has led to increased interest in the viscoelastic characterization of biomaterials. Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) is a particularly promising biomaterial, largely due to its tunability, yet the impact of different preparation parameters on the material's viscoelasticity is not well understood. We characterized an array of GelMA scaffolds, fabricated by varying both GelMA concentration and ultraviolet (UV) light exposure time. Pulse-echo ultrasound techniques were used to non-invasively determine the sound speed and attenuation of the scaffolds, revealing significant dependence on GelMA concentration. Steady shear rate tests in addition to strain- and frequency-controlled oscillatory shear tests were performed using a rotational rheometer (Model: DHR-2, TA Instruments) to ascertain the levels of shear-thinning and viscoelasticity at a wide range of strain rates, oscillation frequencies, and amplitudes. The rheological tests show moduli dependence on both GelMA concentration and curing time. Together, this acoustic and rheological characterization can be used to inform the selection of GelMA scaffolds in tissue engineering applications, and this method can be used as a guide for characterizing other polymeric hydrogels.