Freeform laser and inkjet printing of biological constructs

With the recent advances of additive manufacturing, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has enabled the printing of biocompatible materials, cells and supporting components into complex 3D functional living tissues to address the need for tissues and organs suitable for transplantation. As vascularization is generally identified as one of the main technological barriers for building 3D organs, the freeform printing of 3D biological vascular constructs is of great importance to prove the overall feasibility of 3D bioprinting techniques. In this study, vascular-like constructs are fabricated by both laser- and inkjet-based printing techniques using a liquid support-based approach, which utilizes a calcium chloride-based solution as a cross-linking agent and buoyancy-based support material. 3D constructs such as Y-shaped tubular constructs have been successfully fabricated from alginate-based and cell-laden bioinks with a satisfactory post-printing cell viability.