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4th Dimensional Additive Biofabrication:- Crafting Bio-Functionality from Biomaterials, Cell Biology and Biofabrication Technologies

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2019) | Viewed by 18807

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Robert Michail Ivan Kapsa

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Guest Editor

University of Wollongong, Innovation Campus, Wollongong, Australia
Interests: develop autologous cell-based polymer technologies that restore the function of damaged and diseased CNS, PNS and muscle through the development of micro and nano-structured conducting and/or biodegradable polymer scaffold systems that control excitable cell systems by electrical stimulation with or without delivery of therapeutic factors, including pro and contra growth factors and therapeutic nucleic acids from the polymers.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

Recent advances in additive biofabrication present new opportunities to create structures that can reproduce functional components of failing tissue/organ systems. As such, these synthetic tissue constructs (STCs) require balanced integration of scaffold and functional materials, fabrication processes, and biomolecular and cellular components to reproduce desired functionality in the engineered product.

In particular, translation of STCs to clinical outcomes requires transition of cellular, biomaterial and/or biofabrication processing from two-dimensional systems to three-dimensional systems in which structural and functional elements are more reflective of the native (in vivo) tissue systems for which the STCs are being constructed. In turn, this requires detailed knowledge as to the interplay of effects on cellular development elicited by cells’ exposure to materials, biomolecules and the fabrication processes used to construct the STCs.

This Special Edition of Materials deals with key aspects of additive biofabrication technologies that facilitate engineering of multimodal, multimaterial and multifunctional STCs towards multi-order complex “synthetic” biofunctionality of enhanced compliance with native tissue function.

Prof. Dr. Robert Michail Ivan Kapsa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Tissue Engineering
Biomaterials
Biofabrication
Additive Biofabrication
Muscle
Nerve
Neural Tissue
Cartilage
Bone
Bioprinting
3D Printing
Tissue Constructs
Wet Spinning
Electrospinning
Biomimetics
Bionics
Synthetic Tissue Constructs
Function Engineering

Published Papers (3 papers)

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21 pages, 7144 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Protocols for Culturing and Imaging a Human Ex Vivo Osteochondral Model for Cartilage Biomanufacturing Applications

by Serena Duchi, Stephanie Doyle, Timon Eekel, Cathal D. O’Connell, Cheryl Augustine, Peter Choong, Carmine Onofrillo and Claudia Di Bella

Materials 2019, 12(4), 640; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12040640 - 20 Feb 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4591

Abstract

Cartilage defects and diseases remain major clinical issues in orthopaedics. Biomanufacturing is now a tangible option for the delivery of bioscaffolds capable of regenerating the deficient cartilage tissue. However, several limitations of in vitro and experimental animal models pose serious challenges to the translation of preclinical findings into clinical practice. Ex vivo models are of great value for translating in vitro tissue engineered approaches into clinically relevant conditions. Our aim is to obtain a viable human osteochondral (OC) model to test hydrogel-based materials for cartilage repair. Here we describe a detailed step-by-step framework for the generation of human OC plugs, their culture in a perfusion device and the processing procedures for histological and advanced microscopy imaging. Our ex vivo OC model fulfils the following requirements: the model is metabolically stable for a relevant culture period of 4 weeks in a perfusion bioreactor, the processing procedures allowed for the analysis of 3 different tissues or materials (cartilage, bone and hydrogel) without compromising their integrity. We determined a protocol and the settings for a non-linear microscopy technique on label free sections. Furthermore, we established a clearing protocol to perform light sheet-based observations on the cartilage layer without the need for tedious and destructive histological procedures. Finally, we showed that our OC system is a clinically relevant in terms of cartilage regeneration potential. In conclusion, this OC model represents a valuable preclinical ex vivo tool for studying cartilage therapies, such as hydrogel-based bioscaffolds, and we envision it will reduce the number of animals needed for in vivo testing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 4th Dimensional Additive Biofabrication:- Crafting Bio-Functionality from Biomaterials, Cell Biology and Biofabrication Technologies)

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Review

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42 pages, 4802 KiB

Open AccessReview

Layer-By-Layer: The Case for 3D Bioprinting Neurons to Create Patient-Specific Epilepsy Models

by Natasha Antill-O’Brien, Justin Bourke and Cathal D. O’Connell

Materials 2019, 12(19), 3218; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193218 - 01 Oct 2019

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6855

Abstract

The ability to create three-dimensional (3D) models of brain tissue from patient-derived cells, would open new possibilities in studying the neuropathology of disorders such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. While organoid culture has provided impressive examples of patient-specific models, the generation of organised 3D structures remains a challenge. 3D bioprinting is a rapidly developing technology where living cells, encapsulated in suitable bioink matrices, are printed to form 3D structures. 3D bioprinting may provide the capability to organise neuronal populations in 3D, through layer-by-layer deposition, and thereby recapitulate the complexity of neural tissue. However, printing neuron cells raises particular challenges since the biomaterial environment must be of appropriate softness to allow for the neurite extension, properties which are anathema to building self-supporting 3D structures. Here, we review the topic of 3D bioprinting of neurons, including critical discussions of hardware and bio-ink formulation requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 4th Dimensional Additive Biofabrication:- Crafting Bio-Functionality from Biomaterials, Cell Biology and Biofabrication Technologies)

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14 pages, 870 KiB

Open AccessReview

Strategies for neural control of prosthetic limbs: from electrode interfacing to 3D printing

by Catherine G.Y. Ngan, Rob M.I. Kapsa and Peter F.M. Choong

Materials 2019, 12(12), 1927; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12121927 - 14 Jun 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7031

Abstract

Limb amputation is a major cause of disability in our community, for which motorised prosthetic devices offer a return to function and independence. With the commercialisation and increasing availability of advanced motorised prosthetic technologies, there is a consumer need and clinical drive for intuitive user control. In this context, rapid additive fabrication/prototyping capacities and biofabrication protocols embrace a highly-personalised medicine doctrine that marries specific patient biology and anatomy to high-end prosthetic design, manufacture and functionality. Commercially-available prosthetic models utilise surface electrodes that are limited by their disconnect between mind and device. As such, alternative strategies of mind–prosthetic interfacing have been explored to purposefully drive the prosthetic limb. This review investigates mind to machine interfacing strategies, with a focus on the biological challenges of long-term harnessing of the user’s cerebral commands to drive actuation/movement in electronic prostheses. It covers the limitations of skin, peripheral nerve and brain interfacing electrodes, and in particular the challenges of minimising the foreign-body response, as well as a new strategy of grafting muscle onto residual peripheral nerves. In conjunction, this review also investigates the applicability of additive tissue engineering at the nerve-electrode boundary, which has led to pioneering work in neural regeneration and bioelectrode development for applications at the neuroprosthetic interface. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 4th Dimensional Additive Biofabrication:- Crafting Bio-Functionality from Biomaterials, Cell Biology and Biofabrication Technologies)

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