The introduction of 3D bioprinting is expected to revolutionize the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, which enables the reconstruction of living tissue and organs using the patient’s own cells. The 3D bioprinter is a robotic arm able to move in the X,Y,Z directions with a resolution of 10μm while dispensing a bioink and positioning several cell types and thus can reconstruct the architecture of complex organs.  There are rigorous requirements for material to be able to be used as a bioink for 3D bioprinting with human cells and natural and synthetic hydrogels are currently being evaluated for these applications. We have discovered that cellulose nanofibrillar dispersion has unique shear thinning properties which is perfect for providing high fidelity during bioprinting. We have developed a new bioink, CELLINK, for printing living soft tissue with cells. CELLINK is composed of a nanofibrillated cellulose dispersion and alginate which is crosslinked during printing. The human chondrocytes have been successfully printed with CELLINK in complex 3D shape of human ear and cells showed good viability after printing and crosslinking. Long term study showed cartilage formation in 3D Bioprinted constructs. We have evaluated this new bioink with mesenchymal stem cells and human dermal fibroblast for providing human skin models for testing cosmetics and for cancer research. Recently several projects started in collaboration with plastic surgeons with aim to translate our finding into clinical applications.<br/>

3D bioprinting of living tissues and organs with  polysaccharide based bioinks and human cells

251st National Meeting (2016)

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