MRI: Acquisition of a 3D printer for Additive Manufacturing of Functional Materials for Biological Applications

这笔重大研究仪器(MRI)赠款将使人们能够购买一台3D打印机，用于生物应用功能材料的添加制造。佛罗里达农工大学(FAMU)的PI正在探索新型工程材料的工艺、结构和性能测量，这些材料将在具有深远生物应用的材料加工方面取得重大成就。这笔赠款填补了FAMU在仪器设备方面的空白，并增强了目前PIS研究平台的协同效应，并为生物领域的不同资助项目和推力领域提供了独特的解决方案，如药物输送、电纺、癌症治疗和骨组织工程支架。该项目汇集了来自化学和生物医学工程、制药科学、化学和工业工程的研究人员，并将在不同学科的本科生、研究生和博士后研究员的教育中发挥关键作用。特别是，它将第一次允许生物科学家和工程师之间的相互交谈，从而导致将在生物医学科学中发挥关键作用的新的基础科学和设备的发展。在采购印刷机的帮助下开展材料教育，并在不同部门的课程中进行拟议的研究，将提供一种手段来激励少数民族学生，留住他们并提高他们的科学能力，从而培养出一批训练有素的科学家。这笔重大研究仪器(MRI)赠款将支持购买一台最先进的3D打印机，该打印机具有独特的多材料打印能力，并能够在三维上对这些多种材料进行图案设计。研究内容包括a)开发一种新型的生物打印平台，以打印使用癌细胞和肿瘤相关成纤维细胞的共培养物，这种打印平台可以模拟人类基质的特性；b)集成静电旋转和3D打印，以开发用于组织工程的分层结构支架；c)用于睾酮和雌二醇等分子的经皮给药的3D打印模型；以及用于骨组织工程的支架。癌细胞的3D生物打印在创造复杂的组织和器官模拟方面显示出巨大的前景，并消除了体外药物筛选和动物模型之间的差距。要求的nScrypt生物建筑工具(BAT)系统是一个生物打印平台，能够容纳多达四种不同的材料，并在曲面上打印或打印3D结构，运动控制精度为±5微米，重复性高达±2微米(XY)。打印机系统中包含的智能泵能够打印包括活细胞在内的各种生物材料。在一个软件控制和一个平台下控制单独的泵/设备的能力提供了独特的多层、多材料和多结构能力，使这款打印机成为拟议项目的理想选择。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will enable the acquisition of a 3D printer for additive manufacturing of functional materials for biological applications. The PIs at Florida A&M University (FAMU) are exploring processes, structures and performance measures of novel engineered materials that will lead to significant achievements in material processing that have profound biological applications. This grant fills a gap in instrumentation at FAMU and enhances the current synergy across the PIs' research platform and offer unique solutions for different funded projects and thrust areas in the biological arena such as drug delivery, electrospinning, cancer therapy and scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The project brings together researchers from chemical and biomedical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry and industrial engineering and will play a key role in the education of undergraduate, graduate minority students and postdoctoral fellows across different disciplines. In particular, for the first time it will allow cross talk between the biological scientists and engineers thus resulting in development of novel fundamental science and devices that will play a key role in biomedical sciences. Introduction of materials education with the help of acquired printer and proposed research in the curriculum at different departments will provide a means to motivate minority students, retain them and enhance their scientific capability thus producing a pool of well-trained scientists. This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will support acquisition of a state-of-the-art 3D printer with unique capabilities of multi-material printing and the ability to pattern these multiple materials in three dimensions. Research component involves a) development of a novel bioprinting platform to print co-cultures using cancer cells and tumor associated fibroblasts which can simulate the human stromal characteristics b) integration of electrospinning and 3D printing to develop hierarchically structured scaffolds for tissue engineering c) 3D printed models for transdermal drug delivery of molecules like Testosterone and Estradiol and scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. 3D bio-printing of cancer cells shows significant promise for creating complex tissue and organ mimics and eliminates the gap between the in vitro drug screening and animal models. The requested nScrypt Biological Architectural Tool (BAT) system is a bio-printing platform with the ability to host up to four separate materials and print on curved surfaces or print 3D structures with a motion control accuracy of ±5 microns and repeatability up to ±2 microns in XY. The Smart pump included in the printer system has the ability to print a wide variety of biomaterials including living cells. The ability to control separate pumps/devices all under one software control and one platform provides a unique multilayer, multi-material and multi-structure capability which makes this printer ideal for the proposed projects.