Bioprinting Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

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WHY AND TO WHOM THE RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT: Millions of people suffer from tissue/organ injuries or damage, such as peripheral nerve injuries and heart attacks. Tissue/organ transplantation is the gold standard to treat some of these types of injuries but is severely restricted as an option due to the limited availability of donor tissues/organs. Instead of relying on donor tissues/organs, in this research program we (mainly my graduate students and I) will create artificial tissue/organ substitutes or scaffolds that can grow with patients, ultimately providing a permanent solution and thus improving upon current treatment approaches. An analogy would be buying new parts at the mechanic to replace car parts that are broken or no longer functioning. We envision that someone who unfortunately suffers tissue/organ injuries can go to a hospital, have our scaffolds implanted into his/her body, and then later completely recover the function of a healthy body with the help of our scaffolds. NATURE TO THE WORK TO BE DONE: In this research program, we will develop novel methods and tools to fabricate scaffolds with "help" cells, the structure of which will be similar to native tissues/organs (i.e., what was present in the body prior to injury). By employing emerging three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques, we will lay down or print threads or fibers of biomaterials (or materials that cells are able to stay and live within) with cells (collectively called `bioinks') in a layer-by-layer fashion (called `bioprinting'). Over the next five (5) years, we will achieve the following three specific objectives: (1) develop novel methods/tools to bioprint fibers with novel structures, thus fabricating scaffolds that are distinctive from those produced by existing approaches, (2) seek better ways to print scaffolds such that more cells survive the bioprinting process and that printed scaffolds are more like native structures, and (3) create scaffolds with blood vessels to supply cells with oxygen and nutrients, thus improving cell survival and functions to help repair. In this research program, we will test and evaluate our scaffolds in the lab to see how they work. If they work well, we will test them in animal models and human patients in our next steps. ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS: This research program will lead to the development of new knowledge with regard to the bioprinting technique and the development of novel scaffolds. These novel scaffolds will have structures that closer resemble native tissue/organs than existing scaffolds. We envisioned that the novel scaffolds will work better as applied to treating tissue/organ injures. As such, this research program will be of great benefit to the large number of Canadians who suffer from tissue/organs injuries as well as health researchers, practitioners, and industry partners in related areas.