Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting promises to be essential in tissue engineering for solving the rising demand for organs and tissues. Some bioprinters are commercially available, but their impact on the field of Tissue engineering (TE) is still limited due to their cost or difficulty to tune. Herein, we present a low-cost easy-to-build printhead for microextrusion-based bioprinting (MEBB) that can be installed in many desktop 3D printers to transform them into 3D bioprinters. We can extrude bioinks with precise control of print temperature between 2–60 °C. We validated the versatility of the printhead, by assembling it in three low-cost open-source desktop 3D printers. Multiple units of the printhead can also be easily put together in a single printer carriage for building a multi-material 3D bioprinter. Print resolution was evaluated by creating representative calibration models at different temperatures using natural hydrogels such as gelatin and alginate, and synthetic ones like poloxamer. Using one of the three modified low-cost 3D printers, we successfully printed cell-laden lattice constructs with cell viabilities higher than 90% after 24-h post printing. Controlling temperature and pressure according to the rheological properties of the bioinks was essential in achieving optimal printability and great cell viability. The cost per unit of our device, which can be used with syringes of different volume, is less expensive than any other commercially available product. These data demonstrate an affordable open-source printhead with the potential to become a reliable alternative to commercial bioprinters for any laboratory.
Highlights
Organ transplantation remains as the unique viable option for some of the most severe organ malfunctions [1], but the shortage of donors makes this therapy utterly unsustainable on a global scale [2]
We present an open-source printhead for Microextrusion-based bioprinting (MEBB) created to work with thermosensitive hydrogels
The print temperature can be precisely controlled from 2 to 60 ◦ C, allowing the use of a broad range of bioinks with different viscosities. It is advantageous over other solutions because it can be installed in the majority of affordable open-source 3D printers
Summary
Organ transplantation remains as the unique viable option for some of the most severe organ malfunctions [1], but the shortage of donors makes this therapy utterly unsustainable on a global scale [2]. The gap between the number of donors and patients in the waiting lists has steady grown steadily since the 90 s [3]. Tissue engineering (TE) is a new multidisciplinary field intended to solve the current lack of organs. 3D bioprinting represents an exciting new research direction. This is a layer-by-layer technology capable of depositing cells, biomaterials, and biological molecules in complex 3D constructs [5,6].
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