Bioprinting Tumor Models with Mechanically and Biochemically Tunable Bioinks that Mimic the Native Tumor Microenviroment
Joseph Kinsella,
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering,
McGill University
Physiological tumor microenvironments (TME) exhibit varied mechanical and biological properties that influence the formation rate, size, and frequency of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS). Here we developed a tunable composite hydrogel composed of alginate and gelatin to create 3D bioprinted models of triple negative breast cancer cells that develop distinct MCTS differences dependent upon the mechanical and biochemical properties of the gels for greater than 30 days in culture. These mechanically and biochemically tunable bioinks are capable of recapitulating the native tumor stroma and provide a novel tool to study how mechanics and cell-matrix interactions result in tumor development.
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