Bioprinter with electrospinning printhead

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The ability to fabricate composite biomaterials made of fibers imbedded into a matrix and seed these materials with live cells has many applications in the field of tissue engineering. This proposal requests the purchasing of a kit for melt electrospinning-writing, a cell friendly print-head, a biosafety cabinet and other components to upgrade an existing additive manufacturing system for: (i) fabrication of cell-seeded materials with integrated fibers having different orientations and configurations; (ii) the fabrication of cell-seeded materials with functional viscoelasticity gradients; and (3) the fabrication of scaffolds with a porous structure mimicking microvascularization. The requested equipment will improve the capabilities of an existing bioprinter, acquired by one of the co-applicants (Dr. Hoesli) using financial support from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation as well as the Fonds Nature et Technologie du Quebec, to serve as an enabling multifunctional facility to support collaborative research among eight McGill investigators from different disciplines. The 8 collaborators share a common vision in developing and applying additive manufacturing to biological and medical applications. Two of the investigators hold a Canada Research Chair. Three are new investigators. Collectively, the investigators have published over 200 archival journal publications over the past six years. The potential for major advances in tissue engineering is significant. The infrastructure will help fabricate morphologically accurate grafts, prostheses or implants that will have a composite microstructure and will be functionally graded to better biomechanically mimic their host environment. It is well known that a biomimetic environment is essential for engineered tissue constructs to be successful. Applications for vocal folds, blood vessels, bones, nails, teeth, skin, bladder, pancreas, and other hard and soft tissues are envisioned. There is an explosion of interest for bioprinting at the present time following recent advances in biomaterials and AM technology. The proposed instrument is to create three-dimensional organomimetic models for tissue engineering. The proposed bioprinter is unique in its flexibility and modularity, and the only platform available at the present time that supports the integration of AM nozzles and electrospinning nozzles. The proposed equipment is critically needed for the investigators to: (1) create hydrogels mimicking organs biomechanically; (2) bond dissimilar materials; (3) investigate mechanotransduction in hydrogels with viscoelastic gradients; (4) vascularize hydrogel-based tissue engineered constructs; and (5) immunomodulate hydrogels. It is anticipated that the requested equipment will play a synergetic role in educating a large number of HQPs on additive manufacturing applications in tissue engineering.