Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Three-dimensional (3D) Bioprinting of Tissues and Organs

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2017) | Viewed by 39222

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mohamed N. Rahaman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
2. Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Interests: bioceramics; bone regeneratio; calcium phosphate; drug delivery matrices; biomimetic ceramics; tissue engineering; biological interactions of calcium phosphates; osteoinduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of additive manufacturing, also referred to as three-dimensional (3D) printing, has seen tremendous growth in engineering, manufacturing, medicine, and other areas. A recent advance is 3D bioprinting, a process for generating 3D structures composed of complex functional tissues and organs by positioning biomaterials, cells and biomolecules layer-by-layer, with spatial control of the components, using 3D printing technologies. Compared to non-biological printing, 3D bioprinting involves additional complexities related to the selection of the proper biomaterials, cells, and growth and differentiation factors, as well as technical challenges, such as sensitivity of the cells and biomolecules, and the construction of tissues. The method has already shown promise for the generation and transplantation of several tissues, such as skin, bone and vascular grafts, and it is being used for growing organs. This Special Issue will cover recent advances in 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs, including methods, applications and challenges, and future developments.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed N. Rahaman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting
cell printing
regenerative medicine
tissue engineering
tissues and organs

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

5571 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Artificial Auricular Cartilage Using Silk Fibroin and Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel

by Jung Min Lee, Md. Tipu Sultan, Soon Hee Kim, Vijay Kumar, Yeung Kyu Yeon, Ok Joo Lee and Chan Hum Park

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(8), 1707; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms18081707 - 04 Aug 2017

Cited by 66 | Viewed by 8865

Abstract

Several methods for auricular cartilage engineering use tissue engineering techniques. However, an ideal method for engineering auricular cartilage has not been reported. To address this issue, we developed a strategy to engineer auricular cartilage using silk fibroin (SF) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel. We constructed different hydrogels with various ratios of SF and PVA by using salt leaching, silicone mold casting, and freeze-thawing methods. We characterized each of the hydrogels in terms of the swelling ratio, tensile strength, pore size, thermal properties, morphologies, and chemical properties. Based on the cell viability results, we found a blended hydrogel composed of 50% PVA and 50% SF (P50/S50) to be the best hydrogel among the fabricated hydrogels. An intact 3D ear-shaped auricular cartilage formed six weeks after the subcutaneous implantation of a chondrocyte-seeded 3D ear-shaped P50/S50 hydrogel in rats. We observed mature cartilage with a typical lacunar structure both in vitro and in vivo via histological analysis. This study may have potential applications in auricular tissue engineering with a human ear-shaped hydrogel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Three-dimensional (3D) Bioprinting of Tissues and Organs)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

3136 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assembly of Hepatocyte Spheroids Using Magnetic 3D Cell Culture for CYP450 Inhibition/Induction

by Pujan K. Desai, Hubert Tseng and Glauco R. Souza

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(5), 1085; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms18051085 - 18 May 2017

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 9160

Abstract

There is a significant need for in vitro methods to study drug-induced liver injury that are rapid, reproducible, and scalable for existing high-throughput systems. However, traditional monolayer and suspension cultures of hepatocytes are difficult to handle and risk the loss of phenotype. Generally, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture platforms help recapitulate native liver tissue phenotype, but suffer from technical limitations for high-throughput screening, including scalability, speed, and handling. Here, we developed a novel assay for cytochrome P450 (CYP450) induction/inhibition using magnetic 3D cell culture that overcomes the limitations of other platforms by aggregating magnetized cells with magnetic forces. With this platform, spheroids can be rapidly assembled and easily handled, while replicating native liver function. We assembled spheroids of primary human hepatocytes in a 384-well format and maintained this culture over five days, including a 72 h induction period with known CYP450 inducers/inhibitors. CYP450 activity and viability in the spheroids were assessed and compared in parallel with monolayers. CYP450 activity was induced/inhibited in spheroids as expected, separate from any toxic response. Spheroids showed a significantly higher baseline level of CYP450 activity and induction over monolayers. Positive staining in spheroids for albumin and multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP2) indicates the preservation of hepatocyte function within spheroids. The study presents a proof-of-concept for the use of magnetic 3D cell culture for the assembly and handling of novel hepatic tissue models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Three-dimensional (3D) Bioprinting of Tissues and Organs)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

6972 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of 3D-Printed Polycaprolactone/β-Tricalcium Phosphate Membranes on Guided Bone Regeneration

by Jin-Hyung Shim, Joo-Yun Won, Jung-Hyung Park, Ji-Hyeon Bae, Geunseon Ahn, Chang-Hwan Kim, Dong-Hyuk Lim, Dong-Woo Cho, Won-Soo Yun, Eun-Bin Bae, Chang-Mo Jeong and Jung-Bo Huh

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(5), 899; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms18050899 - 25 Apr 2017

Cited by 86 | Viewed by 7748

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) and polycaprolactone/β-tricalcium phosphate (PCL/β-TCP) membranes with a conventional commercial collagen membrane in terms of their abilities to facilitate guided bone regeneration (GBR). Fabricated membranes were tested for dry and wet mechanical properties. Fibroblasts and preosteoblasts were seeded into the membranes and rates and patterns of proliferation were analyzed using a kit-8 assay and by scanning electron microscopy. Osteogenic differentiation was verified by alizarin red S and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining. An in vivo experiment was performed using an alveolar bone defect beagle model, in which defects in three dogs were covered with different membranes. CT and histological analyses at eight weeks after surgery revealed that 3D-printed PCL/β-TCP membranes were more effective than 3D-printed PCL, and substantially better than conventional collagen membranes in terms of biocompatibility and bone regeneration and, thus, at facilitating GBR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Three-dimensional (3D) Bioprinting of Tissues and Organs)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

950 KiB

Open AccessReview

Application of Extrusion-Based Hydrogel Bioprinting for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

by Fu You, B. Frank Eames and Xiongbiao Chen

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(7), 1597; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms18071597 - 23 Jul 2017

Cited by 129 | Viewed by 12208

Abstract

Extrusion-based bioprinting (EBB) is a rapidly developing technique that has made substantial progress in the fabrication of constructs for cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) over the past decade. With this technique, cell-laden hydrogels or bio-inks have been extruded onto printing stages, layer-by-layer, to form three-dimensional (3D) constructs with varying sizes, shapes, and resolutions. This paper reviews the cell sources and hydrogels that can be used for bio-ink formulations in CTE application. Additionally, this paper discusses the important properties of bio-inks to be applied in the EBB technique, including biocompatibility, printability, as well as mechanical properties. The printability of a bio-ink is associated with the formation of first layer, ink rheological properties, and crosslinking mechanisms. Further, this paper discusses two bioprinting approaches to build up cartilage constructs, i.e., self-supporting hydrogel bioprinting and hybrid bioprinting, along with their applications in fabricating chondral, osteochondral, and zonally organized cartilage regenerative constructs. Lastly, current limitations and future opportunities of EBB in printing cartilage regenerative constructs are reviewed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Three-dimensional (3D) Bioprinting of Tissues and Organs)

► Show Figures