Utilizing Low Temperatures to Reduce Deformation in 3D Printed Hydrogel Lattices
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Date
2020Author
Cheema, Yahya
Dharmadhikari, Kunal
Hildreth, Michael
Kewalramani, Neal
Liu, Catherine
Rodriguez, Alexi
Sidelnikov, Danielle
Vemulakonda, Pavan
Warburton, Linnea
Advisor
Schultheis, Lester
DRUM DOI
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Patients who experience end-stage organ failure frequently require life-saving transplants.
In order to mitigate the impact of the shortage, researchers have aimed to produce 3D bioprinted
multi cellular constructs that can effectively replace damage organs in the human body and
improve patient outcomes. Extrusion-based bioprinting is commonly used to create cell-laden
lattice structures that have been implanted in animals to enhance the function of diseased organs.
Extrusion-based bioprinting provides the printing resolution necessary to produce the
morphological and cellular complex tissue lattices including intricate vascular channels
necessary to support cell growth and proliferation. However, extrusion-based bioprinting
requires the use of hydrogels with rheological properties that are such to produce stiffer tissues in
order to maintain the 3D structures printer, and it is not ideal for softer tissues like brain and
lung. There is the need to develop methods that enable the bioprinting of softer tissues.
Cryogenic-based bioprinting has been used as a method to bioprint soft tissues. We produced a
low-temperature 3D bioprinting assembly with a Peltier platform and investigated the effect of
low-temperature on bioink deformation upon deposition. A custom build platform installed into a
Cellink™ Inkredible Bioprinter stabilized the implanted Peltier device and enhanced heat
dissipation for the achievement of lower temperatures. We hypothesized that a reduction in
deformation and collapse might increase bioprint shape fidelity and resolution. Upon initial
inspection, the proof of concept studies indicated the trend that low-temperature lattices have a
smaller area of deformation in comparison to room temperature lattices. Further analyses
indicated no statistically significant difference between pore size and compactness of lattices
printed at room and low-temperatures. Future studies should continue to analyze printing
parameters and conduct identical analyses with layered lattices of significant height in which
filament fusion and collapse becomes a larger concern.
Notes
Gemstone Team TISSUE