3D B(eye)oprinter: A cost-effective, retrofitted 3D printer for Tissue Engineering
Course Instructor
Jeff Burmeister
Abstract
The B(eye)oprinter is a retrofitted Lulzbot Taz5 3D printer that prints bioink to support Tissue Engineering Research. Bioprinting adapts the same principles as 3D printing and is a field that has been growing since the early 2000s. The B(eye)oprinter utilizes a custom syringe-pump extruder system to create cell-laden scaffolds from alginate-gelatin (AG) and alginate-gelatin-nanocellulose (AGN) hydrogel mixtures. This system is able to heat a 5mL syringe to 37℃ to keep the bioink at optimal temperature before and during printing. Pre- and post print, the cell-laden scaffolds were analyzed with a live/dead assay to assess cell viability. The results of the B(eye)oprinter show that cells were alive before and after printing through the extrusion system. The extruder was also able to heat to the desired temperature and print a circular scaffold with concentric infill. The B(eye)oprinter aims to make bioprinting more accessible by providing open source resources for 3D printer conversion and by reducing the cost of traditionally expensive bioprinters.
3D B(eye)oprinter: A cost-effective, retrofitted 3D printer for Tissue Engineering
The B(eye)oprinter is a retrofitted Lulzbot Taz5 3D printer that prints bioink to support Tissue Engineering Research. Bioprinting adapts the same principles as 3D printing and is a field that has been growing since the early 2000s. The B(eye)oprinter utilizes a custom syringe-pump extruder system to create cell-laden scaffolds from alginate-gelatin (AG) and alginate-gelatin-nanocellulose (AGN) hydrogel mixtures. This system is able to heat a 5mL syringe to 37℃ to keep the bioink at optimal temperature before and during printing. Pre- and post print, the cell-laden scaffolds were analyzed with a live/dead assay to assess cell viability. The results of the B(eye)oprinter show that cells were alive before and after printing through the extrusion system. The extruder was also able to heat to the desired temperature and print a circular scaffold with concentric infill. The B(eye)oprinter aims to make bioprinting more accessible by providing open source resources for 3D printer conversion and by reducing the cost of traditionally expensive bioprinters.
