Speaker
Description
Introduction: Reproducibility, scalability and adaptability are crucial aspects for any fabrication method that desires to address cell laden materials that shall be used for tissue engineering or drug screening approaches. Biomimetic fiber-based scaffolds are the most prominent among these as they mimic the fibrillar nature of many ECM proteins or other fibrous structures found therein, such as axons or capillaries for instance and can improve cell proliferation and guide cell polarization. In this work, we present a set of complementary fabrication methods that collectively enable the improved production of such scaffolds, thereby expanding the available toolkit for creating biologically relevant fiber-based systems.
Methods: Electrospinning, melt electrowriting (MEW), fused deposition modelling (FDM) and extrusion bioprinting are methods, which can be used separately or combined to generate anisotropic fiber-based scaffolds for tissue engineering. By depositing fibers or fiber infused hydrogels in different arrangements and combinations the generated fibrillar substrates can be used to improve/direct cellular function. A key aspect herein is the standardization and convergence of these methods into a comfortable generally applicable and reproducible system, that is easily adaptable to facilitate the production and screening of various different fibrillar materials.
Results: We present a set of platform technologies that enable flexible and efficient production of fibrous scaffolds using the following methods:
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Integrating an illustration to G-code approach to generate codes for any core-xyz fabrication machine used to fabricate fibrillar scaffolds such as MEW, FDM or extrusion bioprinting.1
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To facilitate reproducible fabrication, continuous fiber scaffolds (e.g., MEW or electrospun mats) are collected by depositing them on sacrificial PVA films. This allows for flawless removal, while FDM-printed frames help reinforce the scaffolds for easier handling without deformation.2
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A generally applicable method has been introduced for producing non-continuous, cut fibrous scaffolds. These can be used as filler materials in bioprinting by depositing them on softer PVA films, which are later cryo-cut into micrometer-sized fibers.3
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A standardized optical screening approach has been developed to assess the extrusion bioprinting performance of bioinks containing fibrous filler materials. These modified inks exhibit altered printability and are capable of inducing fiber alignment, compared to fiber-free counterparts.4
Discussion: A set of methods has been developed that lays the foundation for standardizing fabrication techniques and analysis for fiber-based materials. These methods have significant implications not only for the production of simple fibrous scaffolds, such as electrospun meshes or MEW scaffolds, but also for more complex scaffolds created through bioprinting or a hybrid approach that combines multiple fabrication techniques. As a result, the range of scaffolds that can be produced could be greatly expanded, offering advantages such as lower development costs, increased production output, and enhanced adaptability. This also enables greater cross-compatibility and comparability across different fabrication methods.
References:
1. Lamberger Z, et al. IJB.2024;0(0):6239. doi:10.36922/ijb.6239
2. Lamberger Z, et al. Adv Healthc Mater.2025;14(4):e2402527.doi:10.1002/adhm.202402527
3. Lamberger Z, et al. Small Methods.2025;9(3):e2401060. doi:10.1002/smtd.202401060
4. Lamberger Z, et al. Sci Rep.2024;14(1):13972. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-64039-y
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