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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Drop-on-demand bioprinting: A redesigned laser-induced side transfer approach with continuous capillary perfusion
Mahyar Erfanian1,2 ,
Ahad Mohammadi1,2 ,
Hamid Ebrahimi Orimi1,3 ,
Jennyfer Zapata-Farfan4 ,
Joe Saade1,5 ,
Michel Meunier4 ,
Bruno Larrivée1,6,7 ,
Christos Boutopoulos1,2,6*
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1
Centre de Recherche Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
2
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
3
Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
4
Engineering Physics Department, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
5
Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
6
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
7
Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
Submitted: 26 January 2024 | Accepted: 26 April 2024 | Published: 5 June 2024
© 2024 by the 2024 Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract
We present a drop-on-demand (DOD) bioprinting method based on a novel implementation of laser-induced side transfer (LIST). Our approach involves continuous bioink perfusion through a glass capillary featuring a laser-machined hole in the capillary wall, serving as a nozzle. Focused low-energy nanosecond laser pulses are employed for precise droplet ejection. This innovative design separates the control of the bioink flow rate inside the capillary from the printing rate (drop ejection), leading to an enhanced printing workflow. We assessed the impact of key printing parameters, such as laser energy and flow conditions, on printing quality. Furthermore, we utilized the redesigned LIST to bioprint human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Our findings indicate that the printed HUVECs exhibit no viability loss and demonstrate the ability to recruit perivascular cells, including pericytes and fibroblasts. The redesigned LIST can be utilized in tissue engineering applications requiring DOD cell printing.
Keywords
Laser-assisted bioprinting
Laser-induced forward transfer
Ink-jet
Microvasculature
Biofabrication
Funding
Christos Boutopoulos acknowledges financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-2018-06767) and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Quebec (#312263). Hamid Ebrahimi Orimi acknowledges the financial support from the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec Nature et Technologies (#263066).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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