Culture Media and Process Fluids in Bioprinting
William G Whitford,
Strategic Solutions Leader,
GE Healthcare Life Sciences
The attributes of cell culture media and process fluids used with bioprinted matrices are dependent upon quite a few disparate factors. One is the type of cells employed in cell-integral printing or seeding a basal structure. The final density of cells required by the particular model, tissue or organ influences such materials as growth-and differentiation factors and metabolite complements. Another factor is the duration of various flow paths, environments and throughputs of component operations and their process parameter control potential. From a regulatory and quality perspective, while removal of animal products is desired, some of the primary and stem cells required have yet to be successfully maintained in even serum-free conditions. Basal matrix materials can exhibit such phenomena as chemical leaching and factor/metabolite binding. The regulatory status of materials, including cell culture media are dependent upon the ultimate application of the printing, and in a regenerative medicine application, how close those materials are to clinical implementation. Finally, considerations of maintenance of an initial, penultimate state or functional, immunological or CD phenotype is especially important in 4D bioprinting applications where the cell mass evolves or responds to its ultimate environment.
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