3D Bioprinting: A Technology for Prevention and Therapy of Infectious Diseases

Koustav Maiti, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara

Introduction

Quick development medicines and vaccines are very much essential to counter emergent pathogens and contagious diseases. Construction with 3D bioprinting technology gives a beneficial method for the production of highly biomimetic and reliable in vitro models in the field of infectious disease research.

Advancement of 3D Bioprinting

3D bioprinting method can be used to build functional tissues, organs, and therapeutics in today’s modern era. Bio-ink is mostly used as a biocompatible hydrogel for protecting cells from damage that can be happened during the printing process. Bio-ink also gives the geometrical support to make the 3D structure. Bio-ink also acts as a microenvironmental niche that provides bioactive signs such as extracellular matrix, growth factor and also induces the formation of tissues and development.

The material used in 3D bioprinting can be divided into 2 categories: 1. Biomaterial Inks and 2. Bio-inks. The biomaterial inks should have a good printing ability in every printing condition. Polycaprolactone (PCL), Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and their derivatives supply physical and mechanical assistance to the in vitro models. PCL is an FDA-approved biomaterial and cells rarely connect the surface as it is hydrophobic. PCL is used as a drug delivery carrier in sutures and also as scaffolds for tissue repairing because it has long-term stability and slow biodegradability characters. On the other hand, PDMS is a silicon-based organic compound, transparent, non-toxic, and non-flammable. Due to these good characters, PDMS is used in medical devices most of the time. A mold containing patterns is made by lithography using a laser and then PDMS is used for casting the micropattern.  3D bioprinting with PDMS has used to make a transparent and stable chip device in which the cells are bioprinted inside the chip. Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) is a widely used biocompatible ink as it has high tenability and affinity for biomolecules. PEG is water-soluble and so it is used as a sacrificial material for several complex and hollow-shaped frameworks. Conjugated PEG is also made with biomimetic ligands (Such as short polypeptide sequences or larger proteins, including drugs) for the improvement of cellular interactions.

Hydrogels for bio-ink are needed to flow under modest pressure, solidify rapidly and support sufficient integrity after building up. Natural source-derived hydrogels are often used as bio-inks such as collagen, gelatin, cellulose, silk fibroin, alginate, and decellularized ECM. Collagen is used in a large variety of species due to its ubiquitous nature. Gelatin also can form a gel at a decreased temperature though it dissolves at normal temperature. Cellulose can be used as a drug carrier to transport pharmaceutical agents or contact lenses etc. Silk fibroin has good biocompatibility and processability characters. Alginate is a biodegradable, cytocompatible material and it can be simply immersed in a CaCl2 solution. Decellularized ECM is a tissue-specific ECM material that can copy the composition of the tissue matrix.

3D Bioprinting Technologies

There are several 3D bioprinting techniques to make highly functional 3D structures. Extrusion-based bioprinting is mostly used bioprinting methods. Most of the hydrogels used in the bio-ink of this method have low viscosity. This kind of method helps for the production of 3D tissue structures directly. In recent years, this method is used in different fabrication applications, such as muscles, blood vessels, and the heart. Microfluidic chips have been used for a variety of bio-inks in recent years. On the other hand, the Light-assisted printing technique uses light to solidify a photocurable bio-ink. There are 3 types of light-assisted printing: LIFT, SLA and DLP. LIFT can fabricate the 3D structures by using bio-inks. In SLA bioprinting, photocurable bio-inks are subjected to infrared, UV, or visible light to make 3D structures. DLP bioprinting technique facilitates the fabrication of cell patterns. Inkjet-based printing is another type of bioprinting method. This method helps for a creation of a high-resolution, precise 3D structure at a low cost.

Applications of 3D Bioprinting

There are different types of applications of 3D bioprinting in modeling infectious diseases in vitro. Many 3D-bioprinted functional tissues have been developed. 3D-printed human skin with the same composition of layers can be made. Fabrication of duplicate complex nerve networks can be created by the 3D bioprinting technique. Several homeostatic organs also can be 3D bioprinted. This technology also allows versatile fabrication using multi-cell-laden materials. Various vaccines and therapeutics (Such as antibiotics, antiviral drugs, antibodies, etc.) can be developed using 3D bioprinting. Personalized medicines also can be easily manufactured by this method as it mostly needs complex manufacturing methods. RNA Printer and Drug Printer are the technologies for producing RNA vaccines and therapeutic drugs directly by using 3D bioprinting.

Conclusion

3D bioprinting technology is used worldwide as it is better to construct complex 3D structures. This method is favorable for automation as it is based on the computational processes from modeling to manufacturing. The development of artificial intelligence and autonomous technologies makes it much easier to handle. 3D bioprinting offers a new emerging technology for the better control of contagious diseases and quick drug discovery in the world of future medicine.

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Reference: Application of 3D bioprinting in the prevention and the therapy for human diseases; Hee-Gyeong Yi, Hyeonji Kim et al.; Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy; 14 May 2021; Volume 6; Article number : 177; doi : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-021-00566-8

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