Grant: Idea to Innovation

The principal goal in the field of bioprinting is to produce three-dimensional (3D) constructs to support living cell growth - a basis for study in tissue engineering and biomedicine. The fabrication of such 3D structures consists of layer-by-layer deposition of biocompatible materials (bioinks) onto a printing stage using a positioning system and a material deposition mechanism. We have developed an advanced mist-based printhead assembly for 3D bioprinting applications that addresses one of the major limitations of current commercial bioprinting systems. Our system uses a mist delivery and collection mechanism to crosslink hydrogel bioinks within both extrusion and drop-based printheads and therefore offers a level of versatility and print quality that is not offered by any other system on the market. As supported by our market study and feedback from major companies and experts in the field, the technology has tremendous commercialization potential for both sales of the printhead as well as accompanying highly specialized hydrogel bioinks. To meet the standards of the industry and secure the future commercial success, as proposed in this phase I I2I proposal, the performance of the current prototype must be improved and validated in several areas. Our research aims are: 1) optimize the mist-based printhead to achieve a robust performance, 2) add multi-material printing capacity to the mist-based printhead, 3) develop printheads compatible with high throughput liquid screening and 4) produce multi-cell encapsulating constructs and microbeads.