Photo-Polymerization 3D Printer

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3D printing is revolutionizing the way products are manufactured, with benefits including higher customization, expedited prototyping, and lower costs. In particular, the area of biofabrication is expanding rapidly, with the number of publications using 3D printing to design microenvironments for tissue engineering growing exponentially. This proposal seeks funding for a 3D printer capable of photo-polymerization of polymer, hydrogel, and nanomaterial-based bioinks into three-dimensional scaffolds for cell culture and tissue engineering. The requested 3D printer is urgently needed by the Moran-Mirabal, Bowdish, and Didar groups to perform testing and validation of novel green 3D printing bioinks which are based on functional green nanomaterials (Moran-Mirabal), to fabricate scaffolds to study age-related effects on macrophage mobility and their impact on immunity, infection and disease (Bowdish), and to develop new Organ-on-Chip systems for drug screening (Didar). Currently, there are no photo-polymerization 3D printers available at McMaster University, which severely limits our ability to carry out this research, file IP for new materials produced, and publish our findings - ultimately delaying HQP progression. The specific 3D printer requested is capable of printing up to 6 different materials in series, under temperature-controlled conditions, is capable of irradiation in UV and visible wavelengths, and has a small foot print that makes it possible to place it in a biological safety cabinet to print under a sterile environment. The 3D printer will be located in the newly renovated research wing of the Arthur N. Bourns Building at McMaster University, where it will be set up in a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory shared by faculty from the Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Chemical Engineering departments, and will be managed by a laboratory research manager. As such, the equipment will be operated as a shared instrument available to research groups interested in 3D printing scaffolds for biomedical applications. Thus, the availability of such a 3D printer will enhance the research programs not only of the applicants, but also of other groups, including the Wylie, Brook, Adronov, Selvaganapathy, Zhang, Hoare and Grandfield, by allowing them to test new materials (e.g. silicones, hydrogels, polymer bound single walled carbon nanotubes) for 3D printing or evaluate the response of cells to 3D printed scaffolds (e.g., osteoblasts for bone regeneration, mesenchymal stem cells). A delay in securing the requested 3D printer would not only prevent the applicants' research groups from expeditiously moving forward research on testing new green 3D printing bioinks, but also from 3D printing scaffolds to investigate fundamental biological questions. This will ultimately limit our ability to apply for patents, publish our results, and move student research forward to its full potential.