08:00 | Morning Coffee, Pastries and Networking |
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Session Title: 3D-Printing, circa 2021 |
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09:00 |  | Keynote Presentation Bioengineered Tissue Models for Drug Discovery and Development
Marc Ferrer, Director, 3D Tissue Model Laboratory, NIH/NCATS, United States of America
Tissue equivalents produced using bioengineering technologies are emerging as robust and versatile cellular assay platforms for drug discovery and development. Bioengineering technologies enable the production of spatially controlled tissues with tailored physiological complexity using iPSC-derived or primary cells, in multi-well plate platforms amenable for medium throughput screening.
Operationalization of the use of bioengineered 3D organotypic models with existing automation screening platforms meets with challenges in cell production, reproducible tissue biofabrication in multi-well plate format, 3D phenotypic assays, and data generation and processing challenges. Examples of bioengineered tissue models and their use for drug screening will be discussed. |
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09:30 |  | Keynote Presentation 3D Bioprinting of Living Tissues and Organs: From Basic Science to Clinical Translation
Ibrahim Ozbolat, Hartz Family Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, United States of America
3D Bioprinting is a disruptive technology enabling deposition and patterning of living cells in order to manufacture replacement tissues and organs for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, disease modeling and drug screening purposes. In this talk, Dr. Ozbolat will survey the emerging field of bioprinting and its impact on medical sciences. In the first part of his seminar, he will present a wide range of 3D bioprinting efforts in manufacturing of tissue/organ substitutes performed in his laboratory in the last nine years. In the second part, he will present a new bioprinting technique, called aspiration-assisted bioprinting, and explain the underlying physical mechanism in order to understand the interactions between physical governing forces and aspirated viscoelastic tissue building blocks. Finally, he will demonstrate a new intraoperative bioprinting approach in order to repair composite soft/hard tissues during craniofacial reconstruction on a rat model in a surgical setting. |
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10:00 |  Versatile and High Throughput 3D Single Cell Culture
Thomas Ayers, Sr. Technical Applications Specialist, Dolomite Bio
Single cells suspended in predictably sized hydrogel spheres represent a potential starting point for a variety of diverse workflows. From 3D tissue seeding to flow cytometry of single cells and their microenvironments. However, the production of single cells embedded in hydrogel beads is slow without the use of precision microfluidic devices.
Here we report a flexible and high-throughput droplet-based microfluidics system, called the Nadia Innovate system, that enables the controlled capture of up to 600,000 single cells in picolitre volume hydrogel beads in a single run. Designed specifically for use in biological and single cell applications, the Nadia Innovate can use modifiable pressure parameters, onboard temperature control and variable on-chip stirring to encapsulate cells in a variety of substrates. We also explain how coencapsulation of more than one cell type in agarose spheres can be the basis for longitudinal studies of single cell-cell interactions.
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10:30 | Morning Coffee Break and Networking |
11:00 |  | Keynote Presentation 3D Bioprinting Personalized Neural Tissues For Drug Screening
Stephanie Willerth, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering, University of Victoria and CEO – Axolotl Biosciences, Canada
3D bioprinting can create living human tissues on demand based on specifications contained in a digital file. Such highly customized, physiologically-relevant 3D human tissue models can screen potential drug candidates as an alternative to expensive pre-clinical animal testing. The Willerth lab has developed a novel fibrin-based bioink for bioprinting neural tissues derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), which can become any cell type found in the body. Here I will discuss the latest work from our group detailing the composition of our 3D bioprinted tissues and our new spin-off company - Axolotl Biosciences. |
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11:30 |  Equipment and Facility Considerations for 3D Bioprinting Based Production
William Whitford, Life Science Strategic Solutions Leader, DPS Group
Both 3D bioprinting technologies and applications are developing at an extremely fast pace. Diverse analytical and diagnostic products made using bioprinting technologies include microfluidic devices, organ-on-a-chip systems, and 3D in vitro tissue models for both drug research and clinical diagnostics. Therapeutic products are also beginning to be developed and these include bioprinted patches, tissues systems, and even organs. For the regulation of these products, the US FDA has spoken on the issue of the certification of 3D printed medical devices and have indicated they intend to codify issues related to bioprinting. However, 3D printing technology is so dynamic that basic questions remain regarding practical and comprehensive requirements for the manufacturing of 3D bioprinted products or 3DBP (and personalized 3DBP), diagnostic and therapeutic materials, devices and cell therapies. Facility and work-flow solutions are dependent upon many process design and compliance factors. As technological and regulatory obstacles are being removed, the development of biomanufacturing operations raises new considerations. These considerations will include whether the 3DBP is traditional, patient-specific or customizable as well as hospital-made or mass produced. The following will therefore include current thoughts on materials, equipment, facilities and workflows for the production and manufacturing of 3DBP.
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12:00 | A 3D Bioprinted Human Neurovascular Unit as a Tissue-in-a-well platform for Brain Disease Modeling and Drug Screening
Yen-Ting Tung, Research Fellow, 3D Tissue Bioprinting Group, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), United States of America
Through 3D bioprinted technology, we are developing a 3D bioprinted human neurovascular unit (NVU) in a 96-multiwell plate format to be used as a tissue-in-a-well assay platform for high through-put screening (HTS). This 3D NVU contains endothelial cells/pericytes/astrocytes which was bioprinted precisely on a well with a ring-shaped pattern. The ring shape geometry facilitates the quantitation of vasculogenic as well as angiogenesis by measuring the microvessels branching inward in the ring using endothelial cells expressing GFP and fluorescence-based high content imaging readers. This bioprinted vascularized NVU provide a robust tissue in as well model for screening and it has the versatility to increase its cellular and functional complexity by including additional neuronal or by including additional neuronal or immune cells inside the printed tissue.
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12:30 | Networking Lunch in the Exhibit Hall for the Physical On-Site Participants |
13:30 |  | Keynote Presentation Pediatric Vascular Tissue Engineering
Joyce Wong, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, Boston University, United States of America
This presentation will describe different technologies including 3D printing and cell sheet technology development with the aim of creating blood vessel patches for pediatric vascular tissue engineering. |
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14:00 |  | Keynote Presentation Designing a Bioreagent-Compatible Material for a 3D-Printed Molecular Design System
Noah Malmstadt, Professor, Mork Family Dept. of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, United States of America
While stereolithographic 3D printing (SLA) is a promising method for the rapid prototyping and manufacturing of microfluidic systems, the bioadhesive properties of cured SLA resins are poorly characterized. Adhesion of biomolecules to microfluidic channels is an issue in nearly all biological applications, but it becomes a particular problem in applications that require precise and reproducible control of reaction conditions. Over the past several years, we have deployed SLA-printed modular microfluidic components to automate the biochemical workflow of mRNA display. mRNA display is a selection technology that harnesses a massive oligonucleotide-peptide hybrid library to identify molecules that bind to protein targets; automating the mRNA display workflow is a route towards the rapid development of novel cancer protein binding agents. A major roadblock to the microfluidic automation of mRNA display is the nonspecific adhesion of the many required enzyme, peptide, and oligonucleotide reagents to the channel surfaces.
To minimize or eliminate this adhesion, we have explored a range of SLA resin formulations based on vinyl monomers with various functional groups. After examining the achievable resolution and mechanical properties of each formulation, we characterized peptide, oligonucleotide, and protein adhesion and determined the degree to which adhered enzymes retained enzymatic activity. Low-adhesion SLA-printed modules were assembled to construct an automated system capable of producing new mRNA display binding ligands. |
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14:30 | Afternoon Coffee Break |
15:00 |  | Keynote Presentation 3D and 4D Printing with Silk Proteins
David L. Kaplan, Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering, Professor & Chair -- Dept of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, United States of America
Silk is a natural polymer that has been extensively investigated for biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and tunable mechanical properties. It is an extremely versatile material that can be processed into a number of formats, including sponges, films, hydrogels, and nanoparticles. 3D and 4D printing allows silk to be deposited into more intricate designs, increasing its potential applications. We will examine some of these approaches and applications, from bioinspired molecular assembly to freeform printing of self-standing structures, and the development of silk-based materials for patient-tailored bone and cartilage tissue engineering. |
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Session Title: Interactive Poster Session |
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15:30 | Development of a Cross-Linking Agent and a System to Improve the Shape Accuracy in Bioprinting of Vascular Structures
Tomohiro Morita, Student, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
For accurate fabrication of a vascular structure by 3D gel printing, it is necessary to increase in the solidification rate of gel so that the gel can maintain its shape as it is printed. In this study, we developed a novel 3D gel printing system with a new cross-linking agent which enables solidification of alginic acid-based sol immediately after its mounting onto a targeted point. We proposed a new CaCl2-based cross-linking agent by mixing with agar which has high coagulation. Also, we installed two syringes filled with the cross-linking agent as they sandwich a syringe filled with alginic acid-based sol. Both the cross-linking agent and alginic acid-based sol are quantitatively discharged from the top of the device, enabling to add the cross-linking agent to both side of the objects at the same time. After the molding experiments of 200 layers and 300 layers of the vascular structures with changing concentration of agar in the cross-linking agent, the shape accuracy was evaluated from the following viewpoints; (i) inner radius, (ii) outer radius, (iii) thickness, (iv) aspect ratio. |
16:30 |  | Keynote Presentation 3D-Bioprinting of Soft Tissues: Functions and Processes
Wai Yee Yeong, Professor, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
The bioprinting landscape is expanding and growing with exciting new advances. Different bioprinting methods have been proposed to achieve functional and biological applications from the assembly of bioactive elements. In this talk, we will focus on 3D bioprinting of soft tissues with the focus on the key functional aspects of using 3D bioprinting. Beyond just creating the shapes, 3D bioprinting process is an innovative tool for aligning cells and recreating biomimetic design of soft tissues. |
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17:00 | Close of Day 2 of the Conference |