Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University (PA, USA) recently published a paper in APL Bioengineering providing their perspective on the Freefrom Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH) 3D bioprinting approach, the main feature of which is to involve a yield-stress support bath that holds bioinks in place until they are cured. This platform could significantly advance the ability to fabricate functional adult-size tissues and organs.

With the advancement of regenerative therapies and high demand for donor organs, research into 3D bioprinting has grown rapidly in recent years. The most popular 3D printing approach uses bioink – a solution of biological material – that is deposited layer-by-layer to construct the 3D object. However, the soft bioinks can be distorted by gravity in the process.

Until now, this distortion of bioinks has presented a challenge to fabricating adult-size tissues and organs, with most 3D-bioprinted constructs being relatively small as a result. This is where the FRESH approach comes in, as it is designed to overcome this challenge.

“Our goal is to be able to FRESH 3D-print complex 3D tissue and organ models out of a wide range of biocompatible hydrogel and cell-laden bioinks,” commented study author Adam Feinberg (Carnegie Mellon University).

This technique, developed in 2015, has several unique features. First, a support bath ensures that cells and bioinks maintain their position as they cure, while still allowing for the movement of the extrusion needle. It also provides an environment that maintains high cell viability.

FRESH also allows the use of the widest range of bioinks of any 3D-bioprinting method. Finally, it uses a non-destructive print release by warming the ink to 37°C, gently melting the support bath at body temperature.

The FRESH method has been adopted by many research labs for projects including the printing of nanocellulose, conductive hydrogels, scaffolds for stem cell growth and heart chambers.

The researchers are currently working on a number of studies to FRESH 3D-print skeletal muscle.

Link: https://www.regmednet.com/fresh-3d-bioprinting-method-enables-advanced-tissue-fabrication/