3D-Bioprinting

Dr. Hanna Hartmann
Head of Biomedicine & Material Sciences

Revolutionizing medical research and being able to produce and use tissues and organs for transplantation and research purposes is what 3D bioprinting offers!

For several years now, we at the NMI have been working on 3D bioprinting to make the concept of printed, functional tissue and personalizable therapies a reality. In addition to a deeper understanding of cell biological processes and the provision of suitable process and manufacturing methods, fundamental technical challenges in the field of materials research must also be solved for this. This applies in particular to the provision of suitable "bio-inks", i.e. mixtures of 3D-printable biocompatible polymers with cells, which are sometimes the most challenging part of 3D bioprinting.

In recent years, some progress has been made in providing bioprints. However, different materials, processing and characterization methods make it difficult to directly compare printing results. By specifically varying the composition, we optimize bio-inks for the printing process while promoting tissue-specific functions.

In addition, we work on the following main topics within the scope of 3D bioprinting

  • Biological evaluation of cells in bioprinted objects
  • Cell viability (cytotoxicity according to DIN EN ISO 10993-5, live/dead staining, quantification)
  • Cell distribution morphology, proliferation and function (fluorescence staining, migration, etc.)
  • Differentiation of cellular structures and cell types within biotints (Raman imaging)
  • Protocols for multimodal imaging and data processing
  • Drug release and functionality
  • Development and implementation of customer-specific tests

Projects

NatINK -Establishment of electrospun hollow fiber fragments and investigation of their properties for bioinks

PTube-Chip- Microfluidic in vitro model of the proximal tubule in microtiter plate format

3G-Bionik- Development of a 3D cell culture screening model system with fiber-modulated bioink for drug testing

FoBioGel- Development of photostructurable, biochemically functionalizable hydrogels

Multimod3D- Complementary and correlative imaging for 3D bioprinting