Novel design of pneumatic based bio-printing device

Abstract

The use of nanotechnology in medicine and more specifically in the field of drug delivery is set to spread rapidly. Devices can be designed to have a controlled release rate of liquids or matrix structure in the form of beads of fibres. The beads can be engineered to be dissolved within a particle matrix or encapsulated inside a polymer. As a result the drugs can be protected from a critical environment to inhibit unfavourable reactions. nano carriers can also be targeted to the specified infected areas by the virtue of enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect.A novel pneumatic based drug delivery device has been fabricated which will prove to be economically viable for the Indian market. The parameters for this device have been characterized in order to minimize the bead size. This was achieved by changing the concentrations of hydrogel solution, needle aperture and concentration the injection medium. The long term objective of the experiments was to investigate conditions under which a cell suspension in the hydrogel solution could be achieved with the minimum bead size. Using the same device and materials, operating conditions were altered to achieve the formation of nanofibres.