I-Corps: Modularized Bioprinter for High Throughput Pharmaceutical Development

I-Corps：用于高通量药物开发的模块化生物打印机

• 批准号: 1816189
• 负责人: Kara McCloskey
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of California - Merced
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1816189&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Modularized; Bioprinter; Throughput; Pharmaceutical

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is expected to primarily address the needs of the pharmaceutical industry, but is also relevant to a broader range of biological applications. The cost of pharmaceutical drug discovery has increased by nearly 150% in the past 10 years, averaging about $2.6 billion to develop just one drug. A major contributing factor is the inefficacy of pre-clinical studies that still typically use simple 2D cell cultures as experimental models which do not accurately recapitulate the complexity of 3D, multicellular physiological environments. The development of a modular multi-printhead bioprinter will enable a wide variety of materials to be incorporated into the 3D printed tissues. As a result, researchers in pharmaceutical companies will receive a cost-effective means to streamline drug development, leading to increased productivity in bringing medications to market.This I-Corps project aims to investigate the commercialization potential of a modular, multi-printhead bioprinter. This bioprinting system solves the current limitations with two key features. Firstly the multiple dispensing mechanisms can collectively process a wide range of materials. Several printheads each specialized in different materials and printing styles allow 3D, 2D, extrusion, or droplet printing of cell-laden fluids of all viscosities with minimal stress and high resolutions. Secondly, this is a modular design that allows the customization of a bioprinter to a customer's specifications. The system supports the construction and operation of bioprinters with any combination of the different printheads to match the customer's price point and research needs. The combination of these features enables the customer to create complex biological tissues of their design.

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力预计将主要解决制药行业的需求，但也与更广泛的生物应用有关。在过去10年中，药物研发的成本增加了近150%，平均每开发一种药物就需要26亿美元。一个主要的影响因素是临床前研究的无效性，这些研究仍然通常使用简单的2D细胞培养物作为实验模型，不能准确地概括3D多细胞生理环境的复杂性。模块化多打印头生物打印机的开发将使各种材料能够被纳入3D打印组织中。因此，制药公司的研究人员将获得一种具有成本效益的方法来简化药物开发，从而提高将药物推向市场的生产力。这个I-Corps项目旨在研究模块化多打印头生物打印机的商业化潜力。这种生物打印系统通过两个关键功能解决了当前的局限性。首先，多个分配机构可以共同处理广泛的材料。多个打印头各自专门用于不同的材料和打印风格，可对所有粘度的含细胞流体进行3D、2D、挤出或液滴打印，并具有最小的应力和高分辨率。其次，这是一种模块化设计，允许根据客户的规格定制生物打印机。该系统支持生物打印机的建设和运营，不同打印头的任何组合都能满足客户的价格点和研究需求。这些功能的组合使客户能够创建他们设计的复杂生物组织。