{
  "abstract": "Digital micromirror device (DMD)-based bioprinting enables high-resolution fabrication of hydrogel-based tissue constructs, but print fidelity and hydrogel mechanics are typically coupled through polymer concentration, light exposure, and crosslinking density. This creates a materials constraint for vascular bioprinting, where constructs must preserve microscale architecture during fabrication while supporting multicellular remodeling, lumen formation, and long-term tissue organization. To meet these requirements, we developed a 4D GelMA-Cad/gelatin hydrogel with time-dependent mechanics that maintains print fidelity while providing a soft, cell-permissive matrix. GelMA-Cad provides a covalently photocrosslinked, bioactive network containing an N-cadherin-mimetic peptide, while uncrosslinked gelatin serves as a transient matrix-modifying component that diffuses from the hydrogel after fabrication, producing further softening without bulk degradation of the GelMA-Cad network. We characterized hydrogel chemistry with NMR, quantified time-dependent changes in stiffness, visualized pore morphology with cryo-SEM, and evaluated the platform in retinal and pulmonary constructs. The 4D hydrogel supports 3D-patterned accuracy, cell viability, inner blood-retinal barrier vasculature, and vascularized lung-alveolar tissue models. Single-cell RNA-sequencing of the pulmonary vascular-alveolar model demonstrated compartment-specific transcriptional responses, including enrichment of lung capillary-associated endothelial features and AT1-like epithelial states. Overall, this platform decouples DMD print fidelity from post-print matrix mechanics for vascularized soft tissue bioprinting and tissue modeling.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Vanderbilt University Medical Center"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "J. Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. McClain"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Krystofiak"
    },
    {
      "name": "N. Marguerite"
    },
    {
      "name": "W. Hoskins"
    },
    {
      "name": "H. Sutphen"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. A. Kropski"
    },
    {
      "name": "H. David"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. S. McCall"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "B. O'Grady"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f0ejpg56yk1h4.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.01.756011",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.756011v1.full",
  "id": "f0ejpg56yk1h4",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.756011v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "bioengineering"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2204|3D Printing in Biomedical Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220443787",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.756011v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f0ejpg56yk1h4.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:26:02Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.01.756011",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.756011v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:bioengineering",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A 4D GelMA-Cad/Gelatin Hydrogel for High-Resolution DMD Bioprinting of Vascularized Soft Tissue Models",
  "title_text": "A 4D GelMA-Cad/Gelatin Hydrogel for High-Resolution DMD Bioprinting of Vascularized Soft Tissue Models",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:26:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f0ejpg56yk1h4",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}