Title : Light-based bioprinting: From bioink design to modulation of cell response in bioprinted hydrogels
Abstract:
The fabrication of human tissues and organs exhibiting structural, mechanical and biological function remains a major challenge due to their structural complexity, multicellular composition, spatial heterogeneity of the ECM and, in most cases, the presence of a vascular network. The ability of 3D bioprinting technologies to deposit cells, biomaterials and bioactive molecules into precise locations in 3D has provided new opportunities in the fabrication of grafts for tissue repair and in vitro models with high degree of accuracy, automation and reproducibility. Light-based bioprinting technologies are attracting great interest for the fabrication of hierarchical 3D constructs with complex architectures due to their superior resolution and ability to create cellularized constructs within a biologically relevant time frame. The success of light-based bioprinting is intimately linked to the design of photosensitive bioinks which can be rapidly crosslinked in the presence of cells, while supporting essential cellular functions, such as adhesion, migration, proliferation and de novo tissue synthesis. This talk will discuss the role of photopolymerization reactions in 3D bioprinting as well as introduce design strategies to engineer photocrosslinkable bioinks capable of directing cell response within 3D bioprinted hydrogel constructs.
Audience Take Away:
- Rational design of photocrosslinkable biomaterials for 3D bioprinting
- How to characterize the impact of light-based reactions on cell fate within 3D bioprinted hydrogels
- Challenges and opportunities in bioink design of 3D bioprinting
