(152c) Putting 3D Biofabrication to the Use of Tissue Model Fabrication

Microphysiological systems are microfluidic three-dimensional miniature human tissue and organ models that recapitulate the important biological and physiological parameters of their in vivo counterparts. They have recently emerged as a viable platform for personalized medicine and drug screening. These biomimetic microtissues are anticipated to supplement the conventional planar, static cell cultures, and to bridge the gaps between the current pre-clinical animal models and the human body. In addition, multiple microtissues may be channeled together through the microfluidics in a similar manner they arrange in vivo, providing the capacity to analyze interactions among these models. In this talk, I will specifically discuss our recent efforts on developing a series of bioprinting strategies including sacrificial bioprinting, microfluidic bioprinting, and multi-material bioprinting, along with various cytocompatible bioink formulations, for the fabrication of biomimetic 3D tissue models. These platform technologies, when combined with bioreactors and bioanalysis, will likely provide new opportunities in constructing functional tissue and disease models for drug development, therapeutics screening, and precision medicine.