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Friday, March 6, 2020
Machine sucks up tiny tissue spheroids and prints them precisely
A new method of bioprinting uses aspiration of tiny biologics such as spheroids, cells and tissue strands, to precisely place them in 3-D patterns either on scaffolding or without to create artificial tissues with natural properties, according to Penn State researchers.
"Tissue spheroids have been increasingly used as building blocks for fabrication of tissues, but their precise bioprinting has been a major limitation," said Ibrahim T. Ozbolat, Hartz Family Career Development Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics. "In addition, these spheroids have been primarily bioprinted in a scaffold-free manner and could not be applied for fabrication with a scaffold."
Using scaffolding is necessary for many applications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering and also in fabrication of microphysiological systems for disease modeling or drug screening.
Ozbolat and his team used aspiration-assisted bioprinting along with conventional micro-valve printing to create homogeneous tissues and tissues containing a variety of cells.
Aspiration-assisted bioprinting uses the power of suction to move tiny microscopic spheroids. Just as one could pick up a pea by placing a drinking straw on it and sucking through the straw, aspiration-assisted bioprinting picks up the tissuespheroid, holds the suction on the spheroid until it is placed in exactly the proper location and then releases it. The researchers report on their tissue engineering work today in Science Advances.
"Of course, we have to gently aspirate the spheroids according to their viscoelastic properties so no damage occurs in transferring the spheroids to the gel substrate," said Ozbolat. "The spheroids need to be structurally intact and biologically viable."
By controlling the exact placement and type of spheroid, the researchers have been able to create samples of heterocellular tissues, those containing different types of cells.
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