Nanoscale Resolution 3D Printing with Pin-Modified Electrified Inkjets for Tailorable Nano/Macrohybrid Constructs for Tissue Engineering

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces 2018-04, Vol.10 (15), p.12390-12405
• Main Authors: Kim, Jeong In, Kim, Cheol Sang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cell Adhesion; Cell Proliferation; Nanostructures; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b19182

Cells respond to their microenvironment, which is of a size comparable to that of the cells. The macroscale features of three-dimensional (3D) printing struts typically result in whole cell contact guidance (CCG). In contrast, at the nanoscale, where features are of a size similar to that of receptors of cells, the response of cells is more complex. The cell–nanotopography interaction involves nanoscale adhesion localized structures, which include cell adhesion-related particles that change in response to the clustering of integrin. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a technique for manufacturing tailorable nano/macrohybrid constructs capable of freely controlling the cellular activity. In this study, a hierarchical 3D nano- to microscale hybrid structure was fabricated by combinational processing of 3D printing and electrified inkjet spinning via pin motions. This method overcomes the disadvantages of conventional 3D printing, providing a novel combinatory technique for the fabrication of 3D hybrid constructs with excellent cell proliferation. Through a pin-modified electrified inkjet spinning, we have successfully fabricated customizable nano-/microscale hybrid constructs in a fibrous or mesh form, which can control the cell fate. We have conducted this study of cell–topography interactions from the fabrication approach to accelerate the development of next-generation 3D scaffolds.