3D Bioprinting Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications
Daniel Chen,
Professor,
University Of Saskatchewan
Tissue engineering is an emerging field with the aim of producing ‘artificial’ tissue or organ substitutes, ultimately providing a permanent solution to damaged tissues or organs. In tissue engineering, tissue scaffolds play a crucial role. A tissue scaffold is a three-dimensional (3D) structure made from biomaterials with a highly interconnected pore network or microstructure that is used to facilitate cell growth and transport of nutrients and wastes while degrading gradually itself. Fabrication of scaffolds has proven to be a challenging task. One important barrier is the inability to fabricate scaffolds with a microstructure and spatially-controlled distribution of cells that mimics the structure and cell organization in native tissues, and with both mechanical/biological properties appropriate for tissue engineering applications. Recently, the speaker’s research group has been active to pursue research on 3D bioprinting scaffolds for various tissue engineering applications, including the repair of peripheral nerve injuries, spinal cord injuries, articular cartilage, and myocardial infarction. In this presentation, the speaker will report their recent work and achievements, and discuss the challenges and the opportunities in this emerging field. The use of synchrotron–based imaging to track scaffold placement and success in tissue engineering applications will also be discussed.
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