Fig. 1: Aspiration-assisted freeform bioprinting process.
From: Aspiration-assisted freeform bioprinting of pre-fabricated tissue spheroids in a yield-stress gel
a The bioprinting setup, where a box was filled with the yield-stress gel in one compartment and cell media in the other. b A schematic showing the process of spheroid traverse across the yield-stress gel and media compartment. c, d Schematics showing physical parameters involved in transferring of spheroids from the cell media to the yield-stress gel, FR is the magnitude of the resultant force acting on the spheroid due to its interaction with the environment, r is the nozzle’s radius, U is the bioprinting speed, and Pb, the critical aspiration pressure, is a function of R, r, U, gel properties (K, n, τ0). e Images showing a step-by-step illustration of the process, where (Step 1) spheroids were stored in the reservoir in the cell media, (Step 2) spheroids were picked from the reservoir, (Step 3) traversed the interface into yield-stress gel from the cell media compartment and (Step 4) bioprinted to form a predefined shape.
