title: Three-dimensional bioprinting using self-assembling scalable scaffold-free "tissue strands" as a new bioink.
abstract: Recent advances in bioprinting have granted tissue engineers the ability to assemble biomaterials, cells, and signaling molecules into anatomically relevant functional tissues or organ parts. Scaffold-free fabrication has recently attracted a great deal of interest due to the ability to recapitulate tissue biology by using self-assembly, which mimics the embryonic development process. Despite several attempts, bioprinting of scale-up tissues at clinically-relevant dimensions with closely recapitulated tissue biology and functionality is still a major roadblock. Here, we fabricate and engineer scaffold-free scalable tissue strands as a novel bioink material for robotic-assisted bioprinting technologies. Compare to 400 μm-thick tissue spheroids bioprinted in a liquid delivery medium into confining molds, near 8 cm-long tissue strands with rapid fusion and self-assemble capabilities are bioprinted in solid form for the first time without any need for a scaffold or a mold support or a liquid delivery medium, and facilitated native-like scale-up tissues. The prominent approach has been verified using cartilage strands as building units to bioprint articular cartilage tissue.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.|The Center for Engineering in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Engineering Science and Mechanics Department, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.|Huck Institute of Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Kazim K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Moncal
authors.affiliation: Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
authors.forename: Jianqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Engineering Science and Mechanics Department, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Weijie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rivero
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Engineering Science and Mechanics Department, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.|Huck Institute of Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ibrahim T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Ozbolat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D008422:Materials Testing; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*