AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025120094
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

An experimental workflow for bioprinting optimization: Application to a custom-made biomaterial ink

Pablo Martín Compaired1 Elena García-Gareta1,2,3 María Ángeles Pérez1,2*
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1 Multiscale in Mechanical & Biological Engineering Research Group, Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), School of Engineering & Architecture, University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
2 Aragon Institute for Health Research (IIS Aragon), Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
3 Division of Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom
Submitted: 18 March 2025 | Accepted: 1 April 2025 | Published: 11 April 2025
© 2025 by the 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

Bioprinting is an emerging technology with significant potential in biomedical fields, enabling the creation of highly customized, cell-laden constructs. Despite the promise, achieving high-quality, reproducible prints remains challenging due to the lack of standardized protocols, which has hindered widespread adoption of the technique. In this study, we present a systematic bioprinting protocol designed to optimize the performance of an in-house photo-curable biomaterial ink composed of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and egg white protein. Printing quality was evaluated through three key assessments: extrusion, deposition, and printability. To facilitate accurate image analysis, we developed a custom 3D-printed lens support specifically designed for a USB-microscope. Additionally, we implemented a Python script to quantitatively assess bioprinting quality. Our results indicate that a pressure range of 70-80 KPa, combined with speeds between 300 and 900 mm/min, yields reliable extrusion flow, with 75 KPa and 600 mm/min emerging as optimal parameters for bioprinting 3D constructs. These findings underscore the importance of carefully tuning parameters – including pressure and speed – to achieve stable, high-resolution extrusions. Such optimization mitigates common printing issues, including tip clogging, filament dragging, and unintended merging of adjacent filaments, thereby enhancing structural accuracy. This work provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating and optimizing bioprinting parameters, offering a reproducible methodology to enhance print quality. Contributing to the ongoing efforts to standardize bioprinting processes and advance their applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Keywords
3D Bioprinting protocol
Photo-curable biomaterial ink
Egg white proteins
Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)
Extrusion
Deposition
Printability
Funding
This work has been supported by the Spanish Government by “Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia” and by the Europe Union “NextGenerationEU” (Programa Investigo 076-16). E.G.G is funded by a Ramón & Cajal Fellowship (RYC2021-033490-I, fundedby MCIN/AE/10.13039/501100011033 and the EU “NextGenerationEU/PRTR”). Additional support has been received by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Grants No PID2020-113819RB-I00 and PID2023-146072OB-I00. The Bio X bioprinter was adquired through Contrato Programa Plan de Inversiones e Investigación from the Aragón Government (2022).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing