Integrating Advanced 3D Bioprinting and Nanotechnology for Neural Tissue Engineering Applications
Open AccessCurrent therapies for nerve regeneration within injured tissues have had limited success due to complicated neural anatomy and inhibitory barriers in situ. 3D bioprinting offers attractive opportunities for biofunctional rapid prototyping to address difficult issues facing the field of neural tissue engineering. 3D printed scaffolds can mimic natural neural extracellular matrix which provides topographical, electrical and chemical cues ideal for cell growth and differentiation. However, current 3D bioprinting techniques with limited bioink selection exhibit difficult in achieving any clinically relevant neural construct. Therefore, the main objective of my PhD research has been developing biologically innovative nanomaterials and design nanocomposite scaffolds for neural repair. Our lab has modified 3D printed scaffolds with drug-loaded nanoparticles and electrospun microfibers to improve neural cell-scaffold interaction. In a more recent study, we created a novel scaffold with a biomimetic nano-to microarchitecture by integrating a table-top stereolithography printing with conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). My results showed that MWCNTs-incorporated scaffolds greatly promoted outgrowth of neural stem cell differentiated neurons in the presence of electrical stimulation, thus promising for neural tissue regeneration. In conclusion advanced 3D printing techniques combined with bioactive nanomaterials can provide highly tunable and biomimetic scaffolds to serve as effective tissue forming 3D microenvironments.
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