Grant: Alliance Grants

3D bioprinting generates tissues based on the specifications in a computer aided design (CAD) file that are then replicated by extruding cell-laden bioinks into the desired shape. These bioinks typically consist of biomaterials that become solid upon physical or chemical cross-linking. Bioinks tend to be natural polymers capable of being crosslinked. These bioprinted tissues replicate the features of those found in an in vivo setting, and these tissues have numerous applications, including studying tissue formation and evaluating the cytotoxicity of drug targets. The overall goal of this project is to develop novel bioinks containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibres (CNFs) for 3D bioprinting different types of human tissues using stem cells. Both CNCs and CNFs are by products generated from wood products and this project will investigate how their properties can be used to generate bioinks for producing engineered tissue models of bone and cartilage using human mesenchymal stem cells. This project represents an exciting collaboration between Dr. Willerth, an internationally recognized expert in Biomedical Engineering whose work focuses on 3D bioprinting, Dr. Jiang, a Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Functional Biomaterials, and the Ministry of Forests in British Columbia. This project is being conducted with support from the Ministry of Forests in British Columbia as this project represents an exciting new application for CNCs and CNFs. It will develop new forest-derived products to be used by the global market for 3D printing valued at $12.7 billion (USD) with an anticipated compound annual rate growth rate (CAGR) of 22.6%, indicating the rapid growth of this market. 3D printing for biomedical applications accounts for 24% of this market - creating in a huge opportunity for new technologies in this space, including bioinks containing CNCs and CNFs.