Microphysiological Systems: automated fabrication via extrusion bioprinting

Effective bioprinting resolution in tissue model fabrication

“…There are several reviews on extrusion-based bioprinting of tissue models for potential use towards OoC platforms. 7,[78][79][80] The translation of extrusion-based bioprinting to OoC fabrication was recently shown by a liver-on-a-chip platform. 81 The chip was fabricated by dispensing a biocompatible polymer (polylactic acid [PLA]; PCL) as the housing with associated microfluidic channels, and two bioinks as the biological components: HepG2laden collagen and HUVEC-laden gelatin.…”

“…These OoC models may be connected in a single microfluidic circuitry, which can enable investigation of multi-tissue interactions for improved drug screening. 7 More specifically, recent 3D bioprinting techniques 9 allow for the generation of microtissues and organoids by using cell-laden bioinks while preserving the structural configuration of the desired organ. 10,11 In addition, 3D printing techniques have been applied to creating the supporting framework and microfluidic encasement in OoC platforms (e.g., blood vessel-on-a-chip in Fig.…”

Recent Advances in Enabling Technologies in 3D Printing for Precision Medicine

“…Traditional extrusion platforms equipped with multiple printheads have successfully fabricated human scale constructs with vascular channel networks and multiple cell and material types . Multimaterial fabrication platforms have also been leveraged for the development of patient‐specific in vitro models . These systems provide single‐step, automated fabrication processes for spatially controlled, heterogeneous structures.…”

“…Many original 3D printing and biofabrication platforms ( Table 2) such as photolithography, inkjet printing, laser printing, robotic dispensing, and electrospinning are now available as standardized commercial systems [29,30] and have been reviewed extensively elsewhere. [5,19,31] These 3D printing platforms enable precision medicine through applications such as personalized implants, [3,[38][39][40] precision delivery of therapeutics [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] and precision in vitro screening models [51][52][53][54] (Figure 1D-F). Printed constructs may be utilized for these applications directly after fabrication, or may undergo postprocessing, including culture of constructs containing cellular components.…”

“…[40,66,67] Multimaterial fabrication platforms have also been leveraged for the development of patient-specific in vitro models. [51,54,[68][69][70] These systems provide single-step, automated fabrication processes for spatially controlled, heterogeneous structures. However, the need to switch between extruders on these platforms significantly hinders the speed of fabrication, decreasing the RTM of these systems and limiting the feasible number of bioinks that can be used for printing a single construct.…”