Development of Covalently Functionalized Alginate-Pyrrole and Polypyrrole-Alginate Nanocomposites as 3D Printable Electroconductive Bioinks

Electrically conductive hydrogels are gaining attention for their applications in biosensing, cellular interfaces, and tissue engineering. However, conventional hydrogels often lack adequate electrical conductivity. Here, we present two novel conductive alginate-based hydrogels designed for extrusion-based 3D bioprinting: (i) covalently synthesized alginate-polypyrrole (alginate-PPy) via EDC/NHS-mediated conjugation with 3-aminopropyl pyrrole and (ii) nanoparticle-reinforced alginate blended with polypyrrole nanoparticles (alginate@PPy-NP). Both systems exhibit shear-thinning behavior, tunable viscoelasticity, and excellent printability. Alginate@PPy-NP demonstrated superior compressive strength and shape fidelity, whereas alginate-PPy showed enhanced elastic moduli (G′/G″), reflecting a more uniform gel network. The electrical conductivity increased with increasing pyrrole content in both formulations. Optimization of the composition and printing conditions enabled the fabrication of fibroblast-laden constructs with high structural integrity. This work highlights the potential of alginate-polypyrrole hydrogels as customizable, conductive bioinks for 3D bioprinting in regenerative medicine.