Anika Agarwai

Course: Introduction to Engineering, ENGR 100
Professor: Tricia Crossett
Assignment Title: 3D Bioprinting

Assignment Details

“Bioprinting is an emerging tool with the capability to create tailored constructs based on patients’ own imaging data, with the ability to grow and remodel once implanted” (Salih et al., 2024, par 1).

Extrusion based bioprinting:

• Dispensing system to deposit continuous bioink filaments – better structural integrity but lower accuracy
• Cells near the nozzle walls experience force, leading to damage
• Improve for better cell survival and functionality

Jetting-based bioprinting:

• Creates precise patterns of cells and materials without direct contact of the printer nozzle
• Uses bioinks to build structures for things like tissue repair
• Highly accurate and fast (Zhou et al)

Laser-based bioprinting:

• Does not use a nozzle
• Energy source is a laser – accurate tuning (Yang et al, 2021)
• Uses a focused laser to transfer bioink droplets to the substrate (layer where the enzyme acts)
• High cost & unknown effects of laser (Lam et al, 2023)

Application

Bioprinted Liver Tissue:

• Traditional drug testing relies on animal models, which often fail to predict human responses.
• 3D-bioprinted liver tissue mimics human liver function, allowing better testing.

Miniature Human Models:

• Scientists use 3D bioprinting to create miniature organ systems that replicate complex human physiology and disease conditions.
• These models help study disorders such as heart disease, that can reflect more relevant conditions.

Cancer Research and Drug Testing:

• In cancer treatments, many drugs fail in clinical trials despite promising early results.
• 3D-bioprinted models allow researchers to test how cancers respond to treatments in a more realistic environment.
• This advancement helps filter out ineffective drugs before they reach human trials. (Pereira & Shrike Zhang, 2022)

Results/Conclusions

• Can create realistic tissue models, improve drug testing, and will pave the road for more personalized treatments, decreasing reliance on animal models.
• Will need to overcome limitations like vascularization, scalability, cost, and ethics regarding this technology, and regulations.
• Will transform medicine as technology in bio-inks, and imaging continues to advance.

Challenges and Successes

Limitations

Vascularization Challenges: To properly function, a complex network of blood vessels to deliver oxygen and nutrient is needed, remains a difficulty in replicating.
Technological Advancements Needed: Current imaging technology and bio-inks still lack the precision needed to replicate highly complex tissue structures. Advancement could assist with the replication of more complex and precise tissues.
High Costs: 3D bioprinters and biomaterials are expensive, with costs ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, including additional costs from bioinks, limiting accessibility.
Cell Sourcing: Bioprinting often relies on stem cells, which, with current technology, terminates the embryo it is extracted from (Kirilova et al., 2020). Also, there has been debate about the use of xenogeneic (non-human) cells in bioprinting

Future Implications

Hospital Bioprinters: AI-driven bioprinters could create custom tissues and organs on demand, reducing transplant wait times, and seeing bioprinters become a staple in hospitals. (Pereira & Shrike Zhang, 2022).
Healthcare, Food & Resources: Bioprinting may improve food resources with lab-grown meat and printed crops & make medical treatments more accessible (Pereira & Shrike Zhang, 2022).
Ethical Concerns: Debates on medical necessity vs. using this for human enhancement raise issues of regulation.