3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Direct ink writing (DIW) is a promising extrusion-based 3D printing technology, which employs an ink-deposition nozzle to fabricate 3D scaffold structures with customizable ink formulations for tissue engineering applications. However, determining the optimal DIW process parameters such as temperature, pressure, and speed for the specific ink is essential to achieve high reproducibility of the designed geometry and subsequent mechano-biological performance for different applications, particularly for porous scaffolds of finite sizes (total volume > 1000 mm3) and controlled pore size and porosity. The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of fabricating Polycaprolactone (PCL) and bio-active glass (BG) composite-based…

Scaffolds based on bioconjugated hydrogels are attractive for tissue engineering because they can partly mimic human tissue characteristics. For example, they can further increase their bioactivity with cells. However, most of the hydrogels present problems related to their processability, consequently limiting their use in 3D printing to produce tailor-made scaffolds. The goal of this work is to develop bioconjugated hydrogel nanocomposite inks for 3D printed scaffold fabrication through a micro-extrusion process having improved both biocompatibility and processability. The hydrogel is based on a photocrosslinkable alginate bioconjugated with both gelatin and chondroitin sulfate in order to mimic the cartilage extracellular matrix,…

Novel antimicrobial 3D-printed alginate/bacterial-cellulose hydrogels with in situ-synthesized copper nanostructures were developed having improved printability. Prior to 3D printing, two methods were tested for the development of the alginate hydrogels: (a) ionic cross-linking with calcium ions followed by ion exchange with copper ions (method A) and (b) ionic cross-linking with copper ions (method B). A solution containing sodium borohydride, used as a reducing agent, was subsequently added to the hydrogels, producing in situ clusters of copper nanoparticles embedded in the alginate hydrogel matrix. The method used and concentrations of copper and the reducing agent were found to affect the stability…