Engineering tissues with a hierarchical vascular network is challenging. Developments in the field of biofabrication, including 3D bioprinting, are promising to cope with this challenge. However, current strategies lack the capacity to create hierarchical, high resolution, cost efficient, upscalable constructs in a standardized manner with a single approach.
The main goal of the project SE3DPASTE has been to develop printable patterned bioactive embedding baths as platforms for controllable tissue development. These embedding baths consist of granular formulations of biomaterial hydrogel microbeads. Embedded bioprinting, allowing the deposition of complex constructs without the need of a supporting substrate, provides a potential solution for the creation of hierarchical tissue constructs in a standardized manner.
By focusing on how soft granular materials flow within 3D printing nozzles, SE3DPASTE has been able to define two granular biomaterial hydrogel formulations that are printable up to a resolution of 200 micrometer. Both of these formulations have been used to prepare 3D printed and thus patternable bioactive embedding baths. Additionally, computational models have been developed to model the flowing of granular materials through nozzles with adaptable shapes and sizes. These models are currently being used to optimize nozzle geometries depending on the particulate mechanical and other physical properties. Finally, a successful protocol has been developed to not only dry particles, but also shaped particle baths, while maintaining shape, size and integrity of both the individual particles and the shaped particle baths. These characteristics are also maintained during careful rehydration. This is an important step for the long term storage of these normally fast degrading particles.
A market analysis has been performed within the SE3DPASTE project. Based on this analysis, it was concluded that SE3DPASTE offers a unique technology in a fast growing area (30%+ per year) with different applications. As pointed out by the market analysis, printable granular hydrogel materials which can offer a control of local mechanical properties due to jamming and unjamming of the particles, are not only interesting for applications in the field of tissue engineering. Alternative applications have been identified in soft robotics, cosmetics, and food technology. This broad application potential offers a strong basis for the economic impact of the technology developed in SE3DPASTE. At the same time, the broad application potential also increases the societal impact of the SE3DPASTE project. Especially applications in the (bio)medical sector, including tissue engineering and soft robotics, are likely to have a strong impact by addressing current limitations in these fields.
Even though important steps have been made in terms of technology development within SE3DPASTE, the technology still needs to be developed further. Seeing the current level of the technology and time-to-market, the SE3DPASTE team will continue on maturing the technology, drawing up the roadmap before (ultimately) defining a business plan.
