This project aims to develop a multi-material stereolithographic bioprinting strategy based on a digital micromirror device (DMD), for the generation of microfibrous polymer scaffold-reinforced hydrogel-based tissue constructs. Successful completion of this project will enable a new strategy to fabricate biomimetic tissues by combining 3D-printed microfibrous polymer scaffolds and multi-material stereolithographic hydrogel bioprinting, enabling production of hybrid constructs based on stereolithographically-patterned hydrogels that are mechanically reinforced by the polymer scaffolds.
The 3D-printed microfibrous polymer scaffolds will be optimized to achieve optimal porosity/hydrophilicity to support liquid infiltration, and with adequate mechanical reinforcement. The bioink for DMD stereolithography will also be optimized to interface with the 3D-printed microfibrous polymer scaffolds embedded within the chamber to ensure proper bioink-scaffold interactions. The ultimate objective of this hybrid strategy is to generate a high-throughput vascularized bone model consisting of cylindrical island arrays containing human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) within the microfibrous polymer scaffold embedded in the chamber of the DMD stereolithography platform, to achieve osteogenic differentiation.