Abstract

Effective Separation of the BioPrinting Atmosphere from Room Air for Protection of Tissue Constructs

Alicia Henn, Chief Scientific Officer, BioSpherix, Ltd.

Valuable cell and tissue constructs are highly vulnerable to microbial contamination from room air exposure. Placing bioprinters and other cell and tissue-handling equipment in clean rooms and standard biological safety cabinets (BSC) can reduce risks, however there is still bioburden introduced by human operators, even in cleanroom garb. The Xvivo GMP System® barrier isolator separates the cell handling environment from room air with a soft, flexible glovefront. Filtered, tanked, medical grade gases provide a completely controlled and aseptic internal environment for any biomanufacturing process. There is no mixing of room air with the cellular environment. We set out to determine whether effective separation of the room air from the bioprinting environment could reduce contamination of biomanufactured constructs. Using the INKREDIBLE 3D Bioprinter by CELLINK, we bioprinted test samples inside and outside of the Xvivo System and incubated the constructs in a color-changing highly permissive TSB broth for a minimum of five days. We found that enclosing the bioprinting process inside the Xvivo System eliminated contamination from the constructs and the equipment. We conclude that effective separation of the bioprinting atmosphere from the laboratory room air decreases contamination risks for both biomanufacturing equipment and cell and tissue products.