Development of An Extrusion 3D Bioprinter for Bioprinting of Hydrogel Based Biomaterials

Material production processes have evolved in a variety of ways over the past decades. Three-dimensional printing is an additive manufacturing process that fabricates structures and geometries based on consistent layer formation guided by a three- dimensional model. In 3D bioprinting, bioinks comprising of cells, polymers, growth modulators, and drugs are utilized for the fabrication of cellular constructs that mimic the functionality of their natural counterparts. In this study, an extrusion-based 3D bioprinter for bioprinting of hydrogel-based biomaterials was developed using DVD drives with an adjustable syringe pump. Moving axis comprising of stepper motor PL15S-020 were joined for construction of X, Y, and Z-axis and mechanical support was constructed using 3mm poly (methyl methacrylate). For control of the 3D bioprinter, RepRap Arduino Mega Polulu Shield 1.4 was interfaced with Arduino Mega 2560 R3 and A4988 stepper motor drivers. CAD operations were performed using Matter Control 2.0 and gcode was generated using Cura which was afterward sent to the printer via Pronterface. For 3D bioprinting, a variety of bioinks with sodium alginate and agarose as a key ingredient were developed. Print quality was optimized by varying printhead speed, extrusion rate, concentrations of hydrogel ingredients, and syringe needle size. The 3D bioprinter developed from DVD drives had printing area of 35mm*35mm*15mm with optimum printing quality by using 0.1 mm nozzle and 5% agarose-based biomaterials. The ease of utilization and cost-effectiveness of the development of 3D bioprinter will allow life sciences researchers to adapt the 3D bioprinting process more effectively for a wide range of applications.