A novel, well-resolved direct laser bioprinting system for rapid cell encapsulation and microwell fabrication

A direct laser bioprinting (DLBP) system is introduced in this work. The DLBP system applies visible-laser-induced photocrosslinking at a wavelength of 405 nm using the photoinitiator VA086. It is shown that such a system can fabricate vertical structures with fine features (less than 50 μm), and high cell viability (greater than 95%). Experimental characterizations and theoretical simulations are presented, with good agreement seen between the experiments and theory. The DLBP system is applied to the fabrication of (1) cell-laden hydrogel microgrids, (2) hydrogel microwells, as well as a test of (3) cell encapsulation, and (4) cell seeding. The DLBP system is found to be a promising tool for bioprinting.Applied Science, Faculty ofScience, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)Biomedical Engineering, School ofChemistry, Department of (Okanagan)Engineering, School of (Okanagan)ReviewedFacult