3D bioprinting and microscale organization of vascularized tissue constructs using collagen‐based bioink

Abstract

Bioprinting three-dimensional (3D) tissue equivalents have progressed tremendously over the last decade. 3D bioprinting is currently being employed to develop larger and more physiologic tissues, and it is of particular interest to generate vasculature in biofabricated tissues to aid better perfusion and transport of nutrition. Having an advantage over manual culture systems by bringing together biological scaffold materials and cells in precise 3D spatial orientation, bioprinting could assist in placing endothelial cells in specific spatial locations within a 3D matrix to promote vessel formation at these predefined areas. Hence, in the present study, we investigated the use of bioprinting to generate tissue-level capillary-like networks in biofabricated tissue constructs. First, we developed a bioink using collagen type-1 supplemented with xanthan gum (XG) as a thickening agent. Using a commercial extrusion-based multi-head bioprinter and collagen-XG bioink, the component cells were spatially assembled, wherein the endothelial cells were bioprinted in a lattice pattern and sandwiched between bioprinted fibroblasts layers. 3D bioprinted constructs thus generated were stable, and maintained structural shape and form. Post-print culture of the bioprinted tissues resulted in endothelial sprouting and formation of interconnected capillary-like networks within the lattice pattern and between the fibroblast layers. Bioprinter-assisted spatial placement of endothelial cells resulted in fabrication of patterned prevascularized constructs that enable potential regenerative applications in the future.

Synthesis and Incorporation of Quaternary Ammonium Silane Antimicrobial into Self‐Crosslinked Type I Collagen Scaffold: A Hybrid Formulation for 3D Printing

“…3D designing was done with the help of Slic3r software (GNU Affero, Slic3r) to generate the desired shape, size, thickness, and layer profile (pattern and infill density) of the printed collagen membrane. [ 39 ] The 3D printed membrane was incubated at 37 °C (30 to 60 min) for complete gelation. Further, printed membranes were stored at 4 °C in 1× PBS containing respective antimicrobial concentration to prevent shrinkage and dilution of the antimicrobial content.…”

A Guide to Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogel Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting Applications

“…Here, only exopolysaccharides (except for bacterial cellulose that was considered in Section 2.2 ) will be reviewed since they are the most commonly used microbial polysaccharides for bioprinting applications [ 26 ]. The usage of these polysaccharides in 3D bioprinting is still gaining ground since the exploitation of microbial-derived polysaccharides-based bioinks has only been recently described in the literature [ 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 ], as summarized in Table 3 .…”

“…As a result, it constitutes an excellent option to improve the rheological and mechanical characteristics of bioinks. However, its application in the fabrication of bioinks for 3D bioprinting is still relatively new, with just three published papers on the topic [ 154 , 155 , 169 ].…”

A critical analysis of research methods and biological experimental models to study pulp regeneration

“…Alternatively, a 3DA aims to mimic the in vivo microarchitectures more closely, allowing for greater cell‐to‐cell contact and signalling networks (Abbott, 2003; Rosa et al, 2013). Nonetheless, the procedures used to produce 3D structures are more labourious and often demand specific skillsets and equipment (Bhargav et al, 2020; Muthusamy et al, 2021; Sriram et al, 2019). The following sections will discuss the potential uses of such technologies for the advancement of dental pulp tissue engineering and regeneration.…”