Laser-Assisted Bioprinting for bone tissue engineering – Bone printing

Parallel to standard Tissue Engineering, technological advances in the fields of automation, miniaturization and computer-aided design and machining have led to the development of Bioprinting. This later concept has been defined recently as the “the use of computer-aided transfer processes for patterning and assembling living and non-living materials with a prescribed 2D or 3D organization in order to produce bio-engineered structures serving in regenerative medicine, pharmacokinetic and basic cell biology studies”. As compared to traditional approaches in Tissue Engineering, bioprinting represents a paradigm shift. Indeed, its principle is not more to seed cells onto a biodegradable scaffold but rather to organize the individual elements of the tissue during its fabrication step (before its maturation) through the layer-by-layer deposit of biologically relevant components. Moreover, while giving a better control on the cell distribution into 3D constructs, such automatized processes should also minimize contamination issues during tissue engineering process and should reduce the duration for manufacturing a fully functional engineered-tissue.

In the framework of the project Bone printing, we will focus on the development and the evaluation of new technologies through the application of the Bioprinting principle to bone tissue engineering.
Regarding basic research, the main outcome will be gaining further understanding of the influence of the local microenvironment of human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) on the functionality of 3D tissue-engineered constructs. This will be addressed by investigating effects of hMSC patterns and biomaterials properties such as composition and stiffness on tissue function. In this aim, CMCP will focus on the design of novel collagen-based materials through innovative cross-linking procedures.

Regarding experimental developments, this project will consist in realizing the second generation of Laser-assisted Bioprinter which will permit the deposit of living cells and biomaterials in vitro, in vivo and through a safe, sterile and automatized process. As for laser-assisted technologies for biofabrication, main industrial developments concern laser sintering, photo-polymerization and, to our knowledge, no company has proposed an integrated LAB system yet. ALPhANOV and INSERM U577, in collaboration with one subcontractor (e.g. ES Technology) specialized in integrating laser machines for different kind of applications, will thus develop such a system.

Regarding the preclinical aspect, we will evaluate the interest of bioprinting in vivo, what could pave the way to new perspectives in robotized surgery and medicine. The benefit of this new approach compared to the implantation of engineered tissues elaborated in vitro will be addressed in this project.

To summarize, this project is related to the “tissue engineering and biomaterials” theme of TecSan 2010 program. It aims at developing new innovative technologies for bone tissue reconstruction through an original 3D laser printing technology. Bioimaging will play also a key role in this program for investigating the newly formed tissue in an experimental model of bone defect in small animal. This project includes also an automation of the bioprinting process for producing a controlled and reproducible regenerated tissue.The realization of a second generation Laser-Assisted Bioprinter should open new perspectives in regenerative medicine as well as in other biomedical area by furnishing organotypic cultures. Moreover, a spin-off (company) creation for commercialization of 3D Laser-Assisted Bioprinter, with support from the “Route des Lasers” competitiveness cluster is envisaged before the end of this project.