Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

3d Bioprinter + Electrospinner For Bone-Ligament Tissue Engineering, Sherif H. Aboubakr, Steven Nery, Lauren Long, Christopher A. Buksa, Chanju Fritch, Christina Salas

UNM Orthopaedic Research Journal

Modern 3D bioprinters have been shown to allow for precise control of structural geometry to build patientspecific scaffolds for tissue regeneration—primarily nonload- bearing tissue. However, 3D bioprinting is limited by cell viability, polymer cross-linking characteristics, and poor tensile properties. In comparison, electrospinning has been used to form fibrous structures with accelerated cellular maturation properties, improved growth and migration of cells, and increased tensile properties. Conversely, the mostly uncontrolled deposition of electrospun fibers can limit pore size and cell infiltration. In our Orthopaedic Biomechanics & Biomaterials Laboratory, a custom 3D Bioprinter + Electrospinner hybrid system (E-Spin Printer) was designed to merge …