Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has become mainstream for precise and repeatable high-throughput fabrication of complex cell cultures and tissue constructs in drug testing and regenerative medicine, food products, dental and medical implants, biosensors, and so forth. Due to this tremendous growth in demand, an overwhelming amount of hardware manufacturers have recently flooded the market with different types of low-cost bioprinter models—a price segment that is most affordable to typical-sized laboratories. These machines range in sophistication, type of the underlying printing technology, and possible add-ons/features, which makes the selection process rather daunting (especially for a nonexpert customer). Yet, the review articles available in the literature mostly focus on the technical aspects of the printer technologies under development, as opposed to explaining the differences in what is already on the market. In contrast, this paper provides a snapshot of the fast-evolving low-cost bioprinter niche, as well as reputation profiles (relevant to delivery time, part quality, adherence to specifications, warranty, maintenance, etc.) of the companies selling these machines. Specifically, models spanning three dominant technologies—microextrusion, droplet-based/inkjet, and light-based/crosslinking—are reviewed. Additionally, representative examples of high-end competitors (including up-and-coming microfluidics-based bioprinters) are discussed to highlight their major differences and advantages relative to the low-cost models. Finally, forecasts are made based on the trends observed during this survey, as to the anticipated trickling down of the high-end technologies to the low-cost printers. Overall, this paper provides insight for guiding buyers on a limited budget toward making informed purchasing decisions in this fast-paced market.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, nearly 115,000 people in the U.S needed a lifesaving organ transplant in 2018, while only ~10% of them have received it. Yet, almost no artificial FDA-approved products are commercially available today -three decades after the inception of tissue engineering. It is hypothesized here that the major bottlenecks restricting its progress stem from lack of access to the inner pore space of the scaffolds. Specifically, the inability to deliver nutrients to, and clear waste from, the center of the scaffolds limits the size of the products that can be cultured. Likewise, the inability to monitor, and control, the cells after seeding them into the scaffold results in nonviable tissue, with an unacceptable product variability. To resolve these bottlenecks, we present a prototype addressable microfluidics device capable of minimally disruptive fluid and cell manipulations within living cultures. As proof-of-concept, we demonstrate its ability to perform additive manufacturing by seeding cells in spatial patterns (including co-culturing multiple cell types); and subtractive manufacturing by removing surface adherent cells via focused flow of trypsin. Additionally, we show that the device can sample fluids and perform cell "biopsies" (which can be subsequently sent for ex-situ analysis), from any location within its Culture Chamber. Finally, the on-chip plumbing is completely automated using external electronics. This opens the possibility to perform long-term computer-driven tissue engineering experiments, where the cell behavior is modulated in response to the minimally disruptive observations (e.g. fluid sampling and cell biopsies) throughout the entire duration of the cultures. It is expected that the proof-of-concept technology will eventually be scaled up to 3D addressable microfluidic scaffolds, capable of overcoming the limitations bottlenecking the transition of tissue engineering technologies to the clinical setting.

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According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, nearly 115,000 people in the U.S needed a lifesaving organ transplant in 2018, while only ~10% of them have received it. Yet, almost no artificial FDA-approved products are commercially available todaythree decades after the inception of tissue engineering. It is hypothesized that the major bottlenecks restricting its progress stem from lack of access to the inner pore space of the scaffolds. Specifically, the inability to deliver nutrients to, and clear waste from, the center of the scaffolds limits the size of the products that can be cultured. Likewise, the inability to monitor, and control, the cells after seeding them into the scaffold results in nonviable tissue, with an unacceptable product variability. To resolve these bottlenecks, we present a prototype addressable microfluidics device capable of minimally-invasive fluid and cell manipulation within living cultures. As proof-of-concept, we demonstrate its ability to perform additive manufacturing by seeding cells in spatial patterns (including co-culturing multiple cell types); and subtractive manufacturing, by removing surface adherent cells via targeted trypsin release. Additionally, we show that the device is capable of sampling fluids and performing cell "biopsies" (which can be subsequently sent for ex-situ testing), from any location within its culture chamber. Finally, the on-chip plumbing is completely automated using external electronics. This opens up the possibility to perform long-term computer-driven tissue engineering experiments, where the cell behavior is modulated in response to the minimally-invasive observations (e.g. fluid sampling and cell biopsies) throughout the whole duration of the cultures. It is expected that the proofof-concept technology will eventually be scaled up to 3D addressable microfluidic scaffolds, capable of overcoming the limitations bottlenecking the transition of tissue engineering technologies to the clinical setting.