3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Background Human corneal endothelial cells lack regenerative capacity through cell division in vivo. Consequently, in the case of trauma or dystrophy, the only available treatment modality is corneal tissue or primary corneal endothelial cell transplantation from cadaveric donor which faces a high global shortage. Our ultimate goal is to use the state-of-the-art 3D-bioprint technology for automated production of human partial and full-thickness corneal tissues using human stem cells and functional bioinks. In this study, we explore the feasibility of bioprinting the corneal endothelium using human pluripotent stem cell derived corneal endothelial cells and hydrazone crosslinked hyaluronic acid bioink. Methods Corneal…

“There is an immense need for corneal transplants to restore vision after injury or disease. Due to the shortage of donor corneas, three dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as a possible solution to create cornea mimicking structures. The cornea consists of five layers, with the stroma and epithelium forming the two outermost cellular layers. To be able to 3D bioprint these layers, bioinks, and appropriate cell types are needed. For the epithelial layer, human pluripotent stem cell -derived corneal limbal epithelial stem cells (hPSC-LSCs) have great potential. For the stromal layer, human adipose stem cells -derived corneal stromal keratocytes (hASC-CSKs)…

Developing cost-effective and scalable multi-material bioprinting technologies that combine multiple cell types is crucial to produce biomimetic, complex human tissue substitutes and overcome the scarcity of transplantable tissues. These technological developments can revolutionize the treatment of several conditions currently dependent on donor tissues, such as corneal blindness. Here, corneal structures consisting of two layers, stroma and epithelium, were manufactured by extrusion-based 3D bioprinting. To take steps towards clinical translation of bioprinting, three clinically compatible hyaluronic acid based bioinks were combined with human adipose tissue and induced pluripotent stem cell derived cell types. Each of the three bioinks was customized to…

Limbal epithelial stem cells (LSCs) are essential for corneal epithelium regeneration and visual acuity. The limbal niche’s physicochemical properties regulate LSC function, but their role is not fully understood. Developing in vitro models that mimic the native niche can enhance our understanding of niche functions, despite the challenges of niche complexity. In this study, we created a 3D bioprinted limbal niche model using a hybrid approach that combines two human pluripotent stem cell-derived LSC (hPSC-LSC) subpopulations (p63+ and ABCG2+ cells) within hyaluronic acid (HA)-based bioinks and a stiff polyacrylamide (PA) gel scaffold produced by conventional gel casting. We analyzed the…

Utilizing tissue-specific extracellular matrices (ECMs) is vital for replicating the composition of native tissues and developing biologically relevant biomaterials. Human- or animal-derived donor tissues and organs are the current gold standard for the source of these ECMs. To overcome the several limitations related to these ECM sources, including the highly limited availability of donor tissues, cell-derived ECM offers an alternative approach for engineering tissue-specific biomaterials, such as bioinks for three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. 3D bioprinting is a state-of-the-art biofabrication technology that addresses the global need for donor tissues and organs. In fact, there is a vast global demand for human donor…

Corneal transplantation remains gold standard for the treatment of severe cornea diseases, however, scarcity of donor cornea is a serious bottleneck. 3D bioprinting holds tremendous potential for cornea tissue engineering (TE). One of the key technological challenges is to design bioink compositions with ideal printability and cytocompatibility. Photo-crosslinking and ionic crosslinking are often used for the stabilization of 3D bioprinted structures, which can possess limitations on biological functionality of the printed cells. Here, we developed a hyaluronic acid-based dopamine containing bioink using hydrazone crosslinking chemistry for the 3D bioprinting of corneal equivalents. First, the shear thinning property, viscosity, and mechanical…