Better Bioprinting by Light-sheet Lithography

Introduction

Bioprinting is considered the most promising method to produce functional engineered tissues with physiological properties. Successful tissue engineering will open research avenues for drug testing and therapeutic applications, raising much interest not only in academia but also in the pharma and clinical sectors.

Current Limitations

Current bioprinting methods are limited by combinations of:

• Insufficient speed
• Spatial resolution
• Cell viability

Since these technologies often suffer from poor spatial resolution and an inability to control biomechanical properties, they fail to mimic the heterogeneous nature of native tissues.

Project Goals

B-BRIGHTER aims to develop a novel bioprinting technology able to produce engineered tissues with:

• High spatial resolution
• High printing speed

This will be achieved using an original top-down lithography approach. In contrast with current bottom-up, layer-by-layer bioprinting methods, B-BRIGHTER aims at an ultra high-speed digital light-sheet illumination strategy to selectively photo-crosslink cell-laden hydrogels mimicking specific tissues, in confined voxels, and produce three-dimensional complex geometries.

Advancements and Applications

Previous advances from the BRIGHTER project will be extended by building complex bioengineered models of:

1. Skin
2. Cornea
3. Gut tissue

These represent pioneering examples for bioengineering and its application for cell therapy, drug discovery, and toxicology.

Business Case Development

Together with the work on patterning technology, bioink, and application, a basis will be established for formulating a valid business case for a bioprinting product. The work on exploitation activities will ultimately result in a go-no-go decision for the industrialization of a bioprinting product and a commercial path forward.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the goal of the B-BRIGHTER project is to provide a radically new bioprinting technology to boost the performance of various engineered tissues. This, in turn, will promote improved healthcare opportunities, as well as business and employment advances in the European Union and beyond.