3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Biofabrication of cell supportive cardiac patches that can be directly implanted on myocardial infarct is a potential solution for myocardial infarction repair. Ideally, cardiac patches should be able to mimic myocardium extracellular matrix for rapid integration with the host tissue, raising the need to develop cardiac constructs with complex features. In particular, cardiac patches should be electrically conductive, mechanically robust and elastic, biologically active and pre-vascularized.. In this study, we aim to biofabricate a nano-reinforced hybrid cardiac patch laden with human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) with improved electrical, mechanical and biological behavior. A safe UV exposure time with insignificant…

Three-dimensional (3D)-bioprinting techniques may be used to modulate electrical/mechanical properties and porosity of hydrogel constructs for fabrication of suitable cardiac implants. Notably, characterization of these properties after implantation remains a challenge, raising the need for the development of novel quantitative imaging techniques for monitoring hydrogel implant behavior in-situ. This study aims to (i) assess the influence of hydrogel bioprinting patterns on electrical/mechanical behavior of cardiac implants based on a 3D-printing technique and (ii) investigate the potential of synchrotron X-ray phase contrast computed tomography (PCI-CT) for estimating elastic modulus/impedance/porosity and microstructural features of 3D-printed cardiac implants in-situ via an ex-vivo study.…

Hydro­gel-based cardiac tissue engineering offers great promise for myocardial infarction repair. The ability to visualize engineered systems in vivo in animal models is desired to monitor the performance of cardiac constructs. However, due to the low density and weak X-ray attenuation of hydro­gels, conventional radiography and micro-computed tomography are unable to visualize the hydro­gel cardiac constructs upon their implantation, thus limiting their use in animal systems. This paper presents a study on the optimization of synchrotron X-ray propagation-based phase-contrast imaging computed tomography (PCI-CT) for three-dimensional (3D) visualization and assessment of the hydro­gel cardiac patches. First, alginate hydro­gel was 3D-printed into…