Antioxidant Properties of SLA Printed Hydrogels Enriched with Pomegranate Powder

Abstract

3D printing (3DP) is a powerful platform for fabrication of complex or personalized geometries. Hydrogels as attractive candidates for wound dressing, soft implant, encapsulation of phenolic compounds, drug delivery, etc. could be manufactured by using different 3D printing techniques. In this study, encapsulation of pomegranate powder into PEGDMA gel by Stereolithography (SLA) printing was investigated and then antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of printed gels with varying shapes were examined to see the effect of different geometry and process conditions. According to the results, pomegranate based blend was successfully incorporated into gel matrix and printed with high printability ratio at optimized 3D printing conditions. UV induced gelation did not prevent existence of phenolic compounds and allowed retention of antioxidant potential  in printed samples. Obtained hydrogels represent promising biomaterials with great potential for the use in different applications such as antioxidant gel for tissue engineering, wound healing or as a nutraceutical carrier.