Picture: Ozbolat Lab at Penn State / Penn State
A research group at Penn State University has developed a new type of bioprinting technology that could pave the way for the scalable production of tissue. Using a process based on spheroids – spherical cell clusters – it was possible to print tissue ten times faster than with previous methods. This opens up new possibilities in regenerative medicine and could even enable the production of functional organs in the long term.
The process, known as the “High-throughput Integrated Tissue Fabrication System for Bioprinting” (HITS-Bio), combines digital control with an innovative nozzle array that can precisely place several spheroids at the same time. The researchers tested the technology on cartilage tissue, creating a one cubic centimeter construct in just 40 minutes. A high cell viability of over 90 percent was maintained. Traditional approaches often fail due to the challenge of printing the cell structures at the required density without damaging them.
“[This technique] enables the bioprinting of tissues in a high-throughput manner at a speed much faster than existing techniques with high cell viability,” said Ibrahim T. Ozbolat, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in 3D Bioprinting and Regenerative Medicine and professor of engineering science and mechanics, of biomedical engineering and of neurosurgery at Penn State.
The versatility of the technology was also demonstrated in a surgical experiment in which spheroids were printed directly into a wound in the skull of a rat model. Using micro-RNA technology, the researchers were able to transform the cells into bone tissue. “Since we delivered the cells in high dosages with this technique, it actually sped up the bone repair,” Ozbolat said. After three weeks, the wound was 91% healed after three weeks and 96% healed after just six weeks.
The scientists see great potential in the further development of HITS-Bio, particularly in the integration of blood vessels into the printed tissue structures. This would be a decisive step towards clinical application, for example in transplant medicine. The research results were published in the journal Nature Communications.
