Particulate gels as a medium for suspension 3D bio-printing applications

The predominant tissue engineering strategy has focussed on the use of extrusion-based 3D printers to print persistent, polymer-rich scaffold-like structures which are not permissive to tissue maturation. A major challenge in this field is presented by the competing requirements of biomimicry and manufacturability. Specifically, scientists have continued to grapple with printing soft, water-rich hydrogels, which provide favourable microenvironments for cell culture. Our work focuses on the exploitation of a suspension medium – a yield stress fluid capable of supporting printed material that is extruded within its volume - to deliver a new 3D bioprinting paradigm to the tissue engineering field. This talk will discuss our current work on gellan gum particulate gels, applied as a suspension medium for bioprinting applications - including omnidirectional printing of low viscosity bioinks and engineering in-vitro tumour models.