AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025320316
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

3D bioprinting of a perfusable tumor microenvironment model to investigate perfusion and chemotherapeutic responses in ovarian cancer cells

Md Shahriar1 Marielena Molinares1 Ganesh Acharya2 Komaraiah Palle2 Changxue Xu1*
Show Less
1 Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
2 Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
Received: 7 August 2025 | Accepted: 22 September 2025 | Published online: 23 September 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

Understanding the role of perfusion and chemotherapeutic response in solid tumors require advanced in vitro models that closely recapitulate the tumor microenvironment. Addressing this need, we developed a perfusable three-dimensional (3D) GelMA-gelatin-based tumor model embedded with a hollow microchannel to investigate spatial variations in SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell behavior and their response to carboplatin. This study aims to overcome the limitations of conventional 2D and non-perfused 3D cultures by introducing controlled perfusion and directional drug delivery, thereby providing a more physiologically relevant platform for cancer research and drug testing. Using extrusion- and inkjet-based bioprinting, SKOV3 cells were cultured within the GelMA-gelatin matrix and exposed to continuous medium flow. We observed a strong dependence of cell behavior on distance from the perfusion channel. Cells closer to the channel (0–300 µm) showed increased elongation (aspect ratio: 3.5), faster migration (28.98 µm/day), higher viability (96%), and elevated proliferation (index: 3.8), which progressively declined with increasing distance. Upon carboplatin exposure (0–50 µM), SKOV3 cells exhibited dose-dependent reductions in viability, proliferation, migration, and elongation, with aspect ratio dropping to 1.17 and viability to 5% at 50 µM. Matrix degradation analysis revealed increased pore enlargement under perfusion (from 87 µm to 190 µm), suggesting higher MMP activity. This perfused 3D model enables precise evaluation of chemotherapeutic efficacy and tumor cell heterogeneity, offering a powerful tool for preclinical drug screening, tumor biology research, and future integration of vascular and immune components.

Keywords
3D bioprinting
Perfusable 3D tumor model
Ovarian cancer cell
Cell migration
Carboplatin chemotherapy
Drug resistance
Drug screening platform
Funding
Not applicable
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests
Share
Back to top
International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing