Falguni Pati, Jin-Hyung Shim, Jung-Seob Lee, Dong-Woo Cho,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), San 31, Hyoja-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang, Kyungbuk 790-784, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) printing of relevant components of tissue, such as cells and matrix material, has been used for fabrication of tissue analogs. However, fabrication using existing cell printing systems is difficult for printing of tissues with complex shapes and compositions. In this study, we successfully printed 3D cell-laden constructs using the principle of hybrid structure fabrication. A sacrificial layer process, in combination with current 3D printing technology, was used to fabricate complex shaped tissues. We demonstrated practicality of using 3D printing to fabricate cell-laden constructs, where cells were localized as intended. The cell viability of the fabricated constructs was high.
Keywords
3D printing; 3D construct; Complex-shaped structure; Cell viability; Tissue engineering
Full text is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213846313000102