Biophysics of Biofabrication

Biofabrication is revolutionising the way automated fabrication of complex living tissues and hierarchical scaffolds are additively manufactured and offers the potential to synergistically enhance broad healthcare and biotechnology challenges such as Regenerative Medicine, high throughput screening and microfluidics, 3D in vitro tissue and organoid models, medical devices, diagnostics, and bioreactors. Rapid technological evolution in the field of biofabrication has seen development of new bioprinting and bioassembly techniques convergent with additive manufacturing technologies to generate a large library of potential hybrid approaches with hugely complex processing demands and challenging criteria on necessary biofabrication windows. This relates to the (bio)physics of biomaterial and cell-laden bioink processing; rheology and the influence of cells and downstream cell viability and function; thermoplastic polymer, ceramic, and metal additive manufacturing; print fidelity and resolution; and biological function and scale-up. Very rarely are the biophysics of biofabrication investigated or incorporated into technological development of biofabrication lines. This Special Topic addresses this issue showcasing the latest developments as well as challenges and opportunities from multidisciplinary contributors in the field.

Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• Bioprinting technologies
  • Inkjet
  • Extrusion (pressure-based vs microfluidic)
  • Laser-induced forward transfer
  • Magnetic/acoustic levitation
  • Photo-bioprinting/lithography-based
  • Volumetric bioprinting
• Bioassembly, with or without hydrogels/microparticles
• Additive manufacturing of hierarchical structures or cell fate-directing smart surface properties
• Microfluidics

Guest Editors

Jordan Miller, Rice University, USA

Lorenzo Moroni, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Tim Woodfield, University of Otago Christchurch, New Zealand