AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026330357
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

A scalable 3D-printed brain tumour model for high-throughput screening glioblastoma biology and drug response

Panthipa Suwannakot1,2 Eva Tomaskovic-Crook1,2,3* Kimberley L. Alexander2,4,5 Jeremy Micah Crook1,2,3*
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1 Arto Hardy Family Biomedical Innovation Hub, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
2 School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
3 Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, Australian Institute of Innovative Materials, Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
4 Brain Cancer Research, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
5 Department of Neuropathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
Received: 19 December 2025 | Revised: 13 August 2026 | Accepted: 26 August 2026 | Published online: 26 August 2026
© 2026 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

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumour characterized by its rapid infiltrative growth patterns, marked intra- and inter-tumoural heterogeneity, and resistance to conventional treatments. GBM has a median overall survival of 15 months and a 5-year survival rate of approximately 5%. Current treatment modalities, including surgery and chemoradiotherapy, have shown limited success. To address the need for more effective therapeutic strategies and a deeper understanding of GBM biology, we utilised droplet printing technology to fabricate a high-throughput 3D brain tumour model. We first optimized the printability of the GBM cell-laden gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) bioink, tailoring its mechanical properties to mimic the stiffness of human brain tissue. Next, we employed metabolic and immunofluorescence assays to investigate the response of the printed GBM droplets to the standard-of-care chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide (TMZ). Furthermore, using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), we assessed the expression of microRNAs typical for paediatric GBM (miR-490, miR-876-3p, miR-876-5p, miR-448, miR-137, and miR-501-3p), with miR-191-5p used as the endogenous control. Our approach provides proof-of-concept for high-throughput screening of GBM drug response. Moreover, our 3D-printed brain tumour model could be used for patient-personalised tumour screening, encompassing theranostics for GBM diagnostics, treatment, and monitoring.

Keywords
Glioblastoma
Drug resistance
Drug screening
3D bioprinting
Gelatin methacrylate
Hydrogel
MicroRNA
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing