title: Inkjet printing of viable mammalian cells.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a commercial thermal printer to deposit Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) and embryonic motoneuron cells into pre-defined patterns. These experiments were undertaken to verify the biocompatibility of thermal inkjet printing of mammalian cells and the ability to assemble them into viable constructs. Using a modified Hewlett Packard (HP) 550C computer printer and an HP 51626a ink cartridge, CHO cells and rat embryonic motoneurons were suspended separately in a concentrated phosphate buffered saline solution (3 x). The cells were subsequently printed as a kind of "ink" onto several "bio-papers" made from soy agar and collagen gel. The appearance of the CHO cells and motoneurons on the bio-papers indicated an healthy cell morphology. Furthermore, the analyses of the CHO cell viability showed that less than 8% of the cells were lysed during printing. These data indicate that mammalian cells can be effectively delivered by a modified thermal inkjet printer onto biological substrates and that they retain their ability to function. The computer-aided inkjet printing of viable mammalian cells holds potential for creating living tissue analogs, and may eventually lead to the construction of engineered human organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, 502 Rhodes Hall, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Cassie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: J J James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hickman
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000870:Anterior Horn Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D016466:CHO Cells; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016287:Computer Peripherals; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*