Advanced Techniques in Tissue Engineering

Excited to share our new publication in Angiogenesis! Our team reports how micropuncture (MP) combined with granular hydrogel scaffolds (GHS) can surgically bioengineer perfusable, stable, and patterned microvasculature. Key findings: MP + GHS promotes hierarchical microvasculature that remains stable over 28 days. Sustained endothelial cell and macrophage recruitment, with significant M2 macrophage rise. Improved arterial/venous morphology and more perfusable microvascular loops compared to bulk scaffolds. This work highlights how combining microsurgery with engineered biomaterials can precisely control vascularization, opening new pathways for reconstructive surgery and tissue engineering. 📄 Read the full paper here: https://rdcu.be/eFv0Z Big thanks to my outstanding co-authors and collaborators: Jessica El-Mallah, Zaman Ataie, Summer Horchler, Mary Landmesser, Mohammad Hossein Asgardoon, Olivia Waldron, Arian Jaberi, Alexander Kedzierski, Mingjie Sun, and Dino Ravnic.

What if we could print a replacement heart using your own cells? Scientists are getting closer to making this real. Researchers successfully bioprinted a functional rat aorta using living cells and implanted it into rats, where it integrated with native vasculature and showed physiological behavior matching a natural vessel. This was published in Scientific Reports in April 2025. The breakthrough that's making this possible? Advanced bioprinting techniques can now fabricate complex cardiovascular structures including vascular patches, ventricle-like heart pumps, and perfusable vascular networks that closely resemble native blood vessels. For years, the biggest challenge has been vascularization – creating blood vessel networks inside printed tissue. Without proper blood vessels, bioprinted tissues can't get oxygen and nutrients, limiting their size and clinical usefulness. Technologies like digital light processing and stereolithography now enable printing of microscale vascular architectures with extremely high resolution, though they remain largely confined to preclinical proof-of-concept studies. Despite significant research progress, clinical translation remains a challenge – regulatory approval requires extensive preclinical and clinical trials with different standards worldwide. We're not printing replacement organs yet. But we're printing functional blood vessels that work in living animals. That's not just progress. That's a foundation. #bioprinting #tissueengineering #regenerative #medicine #healthcare #medicalinnovation

Physical cues are powerful regulators of cell fate. While mechanical loading and magnetic fields have each shown promise independently, their combined magnetomechanical effect on osteochondral regeneration has remained largely unexplored—partly due to the lack of standardized and comparable in vitro platforms. In our latest work published in Biomaterials, we developed a versatile, high-throughput magnetomechanical stimulation system capable of delivering precisely controlled oscillating magnetic fields and cyclic mechanical deformation to 3D constructs in vitro. By pairing this platform with magnetoactive 3D-printed scaffolds containing different magnetic contents, we show that magnetomechanical stimulation alone—without biochemical differentiation cues—can direct cell commitment. Low magnetic content scaffolds favor osteogenic differentiation, with strong upregulation of ALP and osteocalcin, whereas higher magnetic content scaffolds promote chondrogenic commitment, with increased collagen II and aggrecan expression https://lnkd.in/e8RKiDdw Thanks Maria Kalogeropoulou for leading the work #collaboration Pierpaolo Fucile Sophia Dalfino Gianluca Tartaglia Izabela-Cristina Stancu #Biomaterials #TissueEngineering #Magnetomechanics #OsteochondralRegeneration #3Dprinting #Mechanobiology #RegenerativeMedicine

Researchers developed a hybrid bioprinting platform—the Hybprinter—that combines molten material extrusion for rigid polymers like PCL with DLP bioprinting for soft, cell-laden hydrogels. This approach enables continuous fabrication of multi-material constructs that are both mechanically strong and biologically active. For example, rigid bone-like scaffolds infused with soft, cell-supportive hydrogels. Compared to hydrogel-only prints, the hybrid structures achieved a 1000× increase in mechanical strength and could even be sutured, bridging the gap between lab-printed tissues and surgical handling. The researchers used GelMA for their DLP-printed hydrogel components, but other photocrosslinkable materials such as CollPlant’s methacrylated recombinant type I human collagen could be explored for similar applications. Read the full publication: https://lnkd.in/ggPsJG2v #3dbioprinting #tissueengineering #cellculture

Scientists develop a completely synthetic, lab engineered brain tissue system. A new study published in Advanced Functional Materials (2025) reports the development of bicontinuous, microarchitected PEGDA-based scaffolds that can inherently support neural stem-cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, and synaptic maturation without any ECM coatings. Using a novel STrIPS–bijel fabrication strategy, Noshadi and colleagues engineered a Bijel-Integrated PORous Engineered System (BIPORES) with interconnected micropores, hyperbolic curvature, and multiscale fibrous networks that mimic native neural microenvironments. These structural cues promoted rapid cell adhesion (within 30 s), extensive neurite outgrowth, robust neuronal and astrocytic differentiation, and elevated calcium signaling demonstrating a fully synthetic, stable, and biomimetic 3D platform for neural tissue engineering, disease modeling, and long-term neurobiological studies. #Neuroscience #Neuroengineering #Biomaterials #NeuralTissueEngineering #AdvancedFunctionalMaterials #BrainResearch #Biotechnology #Neurotech #3DCellCulture Study: https://lnkd.in/dUs7zjcS Lab: https://lnkd.in/dxYCwDNf

🟥 Strategies for Constructing Organ-Specific Organoid Chips The construction of organ-specific organoid chips (also known as organoid-on-a-chip systems) requires an integrated approach combining stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and microfluidic design. These platforms are designed to replicate the microenvironment, function, and spatial organization of human organs in vitro and are used for disease modeling, drug screening, and regenerative applications. The first key strategy is to use patient-derived organoids cultured from pluripotent stem cells or adult stem cells that are able to recapitulate the cellular diversity and tissue architecture of specific organs (e.g., liver, brain, intestine, kidney, or lung). These organoids are then embedded in biocompatible scaffolds or hydrogels to support their three-dimensional growth and maintain physiological functions. Second, microfluidic systems need to be incorporated to simulate dynamic physiological conditions, such as fluid shear stress, perfusion, and nutrient exchange. These chips often contain microchannels lined with endothelial cells to simulate blood flow and enable vascular-organoid interactions. Third, mechanical and biochemical manipulations need to be utilized to enhance organ-specific differentiation and maturation. This may involve stretching (for lung or intestinal models), pulsatile flow (for heart or vascular models), or chemical gradients to guide tissue patterning. Fourth, sensor integration is increasingly important for building organ-specific organoid chips, enabling real-time monitoring of key parameters such as pH, oxygen content, metabolic activity, and drug response. Finally, modular design strategies allow multiple organoid connections on a single chip, such as the gut-liver system or the brain-retina system, enabling inter-organ communication studies. In summary, organ-specific organoid chips are designed through a multidisciplinary strategy involving stem cell-derived organoids, biomaterials, microfluidic perfusion, physiological stimulation, and biosensing. These systems are rapidly evolving into powerful platforms for precision medicine, toxicology testing, and modeling of human biological functions. Reference [1] Shun Zhang et al., Lab Chip 2021 (doi: 10.1039/d0lc01186j) #OrganoidonChip #OrganoidEngineering #Microfluidics #TissueEngineering #PrecisionMedicine #StemCellTechnology #RegenerativeMedicine #LabonChip #DrugScreening #DiseaseModeling #BiotechInnovation #NextGenHealthcare #BiomedicalEngineering #OrganChip #PersonalizedMedicine #CSTEAMBiotech

Engineers can print a child’s airway splint inside a jar of gel. No supports. No extra plastic to prop it up. They drew it in open space and the gel held the shape until it set. For years, 3D printing has had one constant problem: gravity. Print an overhang and it sags. Print a bridge and it droops. So we add supports, then snap them off and throw them away. Printing inside a yield-stress gel flips that. What standard printing forces you to do: ↳ Build layer by layer on a flat bed ↳ Spend 30–50% extra material on supports ↳ Avoid complex internal channels ↳ Watch soft materials slump under their own weight What gel printing allows: ↳ Print upward, sideways, even in midair ↳ Skip supports entirely ↳ Make branches, knots, and enclosed paths ↳ Keep delicate bioinks suspended until they solidify The best example is the one that matters most. A child who needs a custom airway splint doesn’t have to accept a simplified design “because the printer can’t do it.” Surgeons can match the patient’s CT scan—curves, branches, everything. The gel holds each turn while the material sets, then rinses away with water. The same method is making soft robotic tentacles with internal fluid channels, bio-inspired grippers, and vessel-like networks for lab-grown tissue. Where it goes first: ↳ Patient-specific implants that fit the body exactly ↳ Soft robots with shapes you couldn’t print before ↳ Aerospace parts once the materials clear certification Medicine leads because each part can be worth $10,000+. And the real change isn’t a new printer. It’s a new rule set. We’ve been designing for “down.” Now we can design for the shape we actually need. __________ Inspired by: Brunel et al. (2024), Advanced Healthcare Materials, on embedded 3D bioprinting of collagen in microgel baths — and related work in support‑bath printing, soft robotics, and patient‑specific implants.

German scientists have created a tiny 3D printer that can build living tissue inside the human body. The system uses a microscopic lens smaller than a grain of salt, attached to an optical fiber, to guide light and solidify bioinks into precise structures. Unlike most conventional bioprinters that operate outside the body, this device can be inserted through an endoscope, enabling direct, minimally invasive tissue fabrication. By printing cells and biodegradable materials exactly where they are needed—rather than growing tissue externally and transplanting it later—researchers can potentially repair or rebuild damaged organs with unprecedented precision. The technology’s micrometer-scale accuracy opens the door to in-body printing of vascular structures, cartilage, or even neural tissue, marking a step toward true on-demand organ repair.

Hydrogels hold immense promise for drug delivery and tissue engineering, but concerns around toxicity still limit their clinical potential. 👉 In our latest work, we explored an innovative approach using gallium nanoparticles and MoS₂ as alternative initiators to reduce residual monomers and improve biocompatibility. 💊 The result? Cytocompatible polyacrylamide-based hydrogels with no inflammatory response, and added functionality through photothermal-controlled drug release. A step forward toward safer, smarter biomaterials for potential clinical applications, hopefully! 🤓 Read the full article in Chem. Eng. J. (open access) to discover how our strategy could reshape hydrogel design: https://lnkd.in/eDQRRYKM

Thrilled to share our latest research published in ACS Nano on an enzyme-free method for detaching adherent cells from culture surfaces. Traditional enzymatic and mechanical detachment methods can damage cells, require multiple steps, and generate significant amount medical waste (~300 million liters annually). Our platform uses alternating electrochemical redox cycling on a conductive polymer nanocomposite to release cells in minutes while preserving >90 % viability,eliminating the need for proteolytic enzymes and reducing waste. By applying a low-frequency alternating voltage, we dynamically disrupt cell adhesion and create a biocompatible, electrically tunable interface that supports gentle, rapid detachment. Tested with human cancer cells, this method achieved detachment efficiencies up to 95 % while maintaining high viability — and is well suited for automation and scalable biomanufacturing. Beyond improving routine cell culture, this technology opens doors to automated, contamination-conscious workflows for cell therapies, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and high-throughput applications like drug screening. The approach also offers exciting opportunities to integrate electrochemical control into bioelectronic systems for next-generation platforms. https://lnkd.in/e7sW947N https://lnkd.in/egDC-CNJ