BioPrint4All | A 3D-bioprinting platform with exchangeable tailor-made print heads to engineer tissue surrogates

Summary
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has been projected as one of the technologies with higher prospects to engineer tissue surrogates, which are i) an unquestionable demand for regenerative medicine and ii) an acknowledged upgrade of 2D in vitro cultures as reliable and predictive testing/screening systems for pharma and cosmetic industries. Despite the important milestones achieved so far, bioprinting functional tissues surrogates has proved difficult. The biggest challenge still is the fabrication of complex (different cell types and extracellular components) structures that work, as a whole, as in the native tissue, thus being physiologically relevant.
The key 3D bioprinting elements are the printer – more specifically the printing head – and the bioinks (live cells plus extracellular components). As the print head controls the deposition of the bioink, one cannot be dissociated from the other. Thus, the successful 3D bioprinting of functional tissue surrogates is directly linked to the possibility to have a 3D printer that supports the characteristics of each bioink designed explicitly for each compartment of a specific tissue. Therefore, a new mind-set in which an integrated development of the print heads (guaranteeing processability and cell-friendly conditions) and the bioinks (ideal combination of biomaterial and cell designed explicitly for each compartment of a specific tissue) is required.
This project proposes to prove the feasibility of having an on-demand 3D printing platform that can combine multiple print heads with different features, virtually at any combination. This strategy will foster reaching significant milestones in a shorter time and expectably at lower costs due to more straightforward and highly innovative scientifically-driven approaches.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/899953
Start date: 01-09-2020
End date: 31-08-2022
Total budget - Public funding: - 150 000,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has been projected as one of the technologies with higher prospects to engineer tissue surrogates, which are i) an unquestionable demand for regenerative medicine and ii) an acknowledged upgrade of 2D in vitro cultures as reliable and predictive testing/screening systems for pharma and cosmetic industries. Despite the important milestones achieved so far, bioprinting functional tissues surrogates has proved difficult. The biggest challenge still is the fabrication of complex (different cell types and extracellular components) structures that work, as a whole, as in the native tissue, thus being physiologically relevant.
The key 3D bioprinting elements are the printer – more specifically the printing head – and the bioinks (live cells plus extracellular components). As the print head controls the deposition of the bioink, one cannot be dissociated from the other. Thus, the successful 3D bioprinting of functional tissue surrogates is directly linked to the possibility to have a 3D printer that supports the characteristics of each bioink designed explicitly for each compartment of a specific tissue. Therefore, a new mind-set in which an integrated development of the print heads (guaranteeing processability and cell-friendly conditions) and the bioinks (ideal combination of biomaterial and cell designed explicitly for each compartment of a specific tissue) is required.
This project proposes to prove the feasibility of having an on-demand 3D printing platform that can combine multiple print heads with different features, virtually at any combination. This strategy will foster reaching significant milestones in a shorter time and expectably at lower costs due to more straightforward and highly innovative scientifically-driven approaches.

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

ERC-2019-POC

Update Date

27-04-2024
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Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE
H2020-EU.1.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
ERC-2019
ERC-2019-PoC