High throughput direct 3D bioprinting in multiwell plates.

Advances in three dimensional (3D) bioprinting have enabled the fabrication of sophisticated 3D tissue scaffolds for biological and medical applications, where high speed, high throughput production in well plates is a critical need. Here, we present an integrated 3D bioprinting platform based on microscale continuous optical printing, capable of high throughputin siturapid fabrication of complex 3D biomedical samples in multiwell plate formats for subsequent culture and analysis. Our high throughput 3D bioprinter (HT-3DP) was used to showcase constructs of varying spatial geometries of biomimetic significance, tunable mechanical properties, as well as reproducibility. Live hepatocellular carcinoma 3D tissue scaffolds were fabricatedin situin multiwell plates, after which a functional drug response assay against the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin was performed. Dual cell-type populations involving both live hepatocellular carcinoma as well as human umbilical vein endothelial cells were also printed to demonstrate dual-tissue fabrication capability. This work demonstrates a significant advancement in that the production rate of 3D bioprinted tissue scaffolds with controllable spatial architectures and mechanical properties can now be done on a high throughput scale, enabling rapid generation ofin vitro3D tissue models within conventional multiwell cell culture plates for high throughput preclinical drug screening and disease modeling.

3D-Printing of Functional Biomedical Microdevices via Light- and Extrusion-Based Approaches.

3D-printing is a powerful additive manufacturing tool, one that enables fabrication of biomedical devices and systems that would otherwise be challenging to create with more traditional methods such as machining or molding. Many different classes of 3D-printing technologies exist, most notably extrusion-based and light-based 3D-printers, which are popular in consumer markets, with advantages and limitations for each modality. The focus here is primarily on showcasing the ability of these 3D-printing platforms to create different types of functional biomedical microdevices-their advantages and limitations are covered with respect to other classes of 3D-printing, as well as the past, recent, and future efforts to advance the functional microdevice domain. In particular, the fabrication of micromachines/robotics, drug-delivery devices, biosensors, and microfluidics is addressed. The current challenges associated with 3D-printing of functional microdevices are also addressed, as well as future directions to improve both the printing techniques and the performance of the printed products.