3D Printing of Organs-On-Chips
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bioengineering Review 3D Printing of Organs-On-Chips Hee-Gyeong Yi †, Hyungseok Lee † and Dong-Woo Cho * Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Kyungbuk 37673, Korea; [email protected] (H.-G.Y.); [email protected] (H.L.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +82-54-279-2171; Fax: +82-54-279-5419 † These authors contributed equally to this work. Academic Editor: Hyun Jung Kim Received: 29 November 2016; Accepted: 20 January 2017; Published: 25 January 2017 Abstract: Organ-on-a-chip engineering aims to create artificial living organs that mimic the complex and physiological responses of real organs, in order to test drugs by precisely manipulating the cells and their microenvironments. To achieve this, the artificial organs should to be microfabricated with an extracellular matrix (ECM) and various types of cells, and should recapitulate morphogenesis, cell differentiation, and functions according to the native organ. A promising strategy is 3D printing, which precisely controls the spatial distribution and layer-by-layer assembly of cells, ECMs, and other biomaterials. Owing to this unique advantage, integration of 3D printing into organ-on-a-chip engineering can facilitate the creation of micro-organs with heterogeneity, a desired 3D cellular arrangement, tissue-specific functions, or even cyclic movement within a microfluidic device. Moreover, fully 3D-printed organs-on-chips more easily incorporate other mechanical and electrical components with the chips, and can be commercialized via automated massive production. Herein, we discuss the recent advances and the potential of 3D cell-printing technology in engineering organs-on-chips, and provides the future perspectives of this technology to establish the highly reliable and useful drug-screening platforms. Keywords: 3D printing; cell-printing; bioprinting; organ-on-a-chip; in vitro tissue model; in vitro disease model 1. Introduction A microenvironment provides a niche with crucial factors for cells to interact, grow, differentiate, and function. Tissue culture plastics such as dishes and flasks are very common and convenient to perform the expansion and maintenance of cells and high-throughput drug screening (e.g., 96- and 384-well plates). However, these flat and simple environments poorly reflect the key elements of an actual body, for example, 3D arrangement, softness, elasticity, mechanical stimuli, fluid flow, and extremely diverse communications (autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine signaling). However, by using in vitro culture platforms, we can precisely control the experimental conditions and utilize various assays for in-depth analysis. Therefore, 3D culture platforms, which can provide both biomimetic microenvironment and controllable experimental conditions, are necessary to understand the mechanisms of disease progression and to find an appropriate treatment strategy. Organs-on-chips have come into the spotlight with their capability to replicate organ-level functions by introducing cells into a microfluidic device that includes precisely fabricated chambers and channels. The microfluidic device serves as a bioreactor that engineers the cells by reproducing the biomimetic stimuli, both dynamic mechanical cues (e.g., rigidity [1] and fluid flow [2]) and chemical cues (e.g., chemotaxis [3] and oxygen gradients [4]), to the microengineered tissues [5]. Organ-on-a-chip engineering focuses on reproducing the minimized essential functions of the target organ. Lung-on-a-chip [6] is a typical example of this concept. This chip reconstitutes the permeable Bioengineering 2017, 4, 10; doi:10.3390/bioengineering4010010 www.mdpi.com/journal/bioengineering Bioengineering 2017, 4, 10 2 of 22 Bioengineering 2017, 4, 10 2 of 21 and functional alveolar barriers experiencing a specific stimulation from the stretching motion due to breathing.and functional Likewise, alveolar the field barriers has recentlyexperiencing shown a specific eye-opening stimulation progress from the for stretching modeling motion tissues due such as intestinalto breathing. tissue [Likewise,7], blood–brain the field barrier has recently [2], and shown bone eye marrow-opening [progress8]. Now, for organs-on-chips modeling tissues ultimately such aim toas establishintestinal tissue a body-on-a-chip [7], blood–brain by barrier interconnecting [2], and bone different marrow [ organs8]. Now, such organs as- theon-chips liver, ultimately bone marrow, aim to establish a body-on-a-chip by interconnecting different organs such as the liver, bone marrow, and a tumor to produce an experimental set with a systemic interaction for screening drugs and and a tumor to produce an experimental set with a systemic interaction for screening drugs and generating replacements for diseased or damaged organs [9,10]. generating replacements for diseased or damaged organs [9,10]. 3D printing3D printing is an is emerging an emerging field field in diverse in diverse areas, area includings, including medicine medicine [11], [11tissue], tissue engineering engineering [12 –14], electronics[12–14], [ 15electronics,16], and [ aerospace15,16], and engineeringaerospace engineering [17]. This [17 is] because. This is 3Dbecause printing 3D printing not only not enables only the buildingenables of variousthe building and of complex various structuresand complex through structures a layer-by-layer through a layer process-by-layer but process also but the also adoption the of variousadoption materials. of various This technologymaterials. This is atechnology striking method is a striking in tissue method engineering in tissue engineering research that research builds 3D scaffoldsthat builds with patient-specific3D scaffolds with shapepatient and-specific complicated shape and porouscomplicated design porous [18 ]design and to [18] create and to living create tissue constructsliving tissue such asconstructs bone [19 such], ear as cartilagebone [19], [ 20ear], cartilage liver [21 [20]], and, liver so [21] on, (Figure and so 1on). (Figure The pre-fabrication 1). The pre- of 3D scaffoldsfabrication with of printing3D scaffolds accompanies with printing wider accompanies options for wider selecting options materials for selecting and follows materials a top–down and follows a top–down approach, seeding the cells onto the scaffolds from the outside prior to approach, seeding the cells onto the scaffolds from the outside prior to implantation. The 3D printing of implantation. The 3D printing of living tissue constructs follows a bottom–up approach to spatially living tissue constructs follows a bottom–up approach to spatially manipulate the cells and to generate a manipulate the cells and to generate a heterogeneous structure with multi-material. The 3D cell- heterogeneousprinting (also structure called 3D with bioprinting) multi-material. facilitates The the 3D construction cell-printing of (also anatomically called 3D and bioprinting) physiologically facilitates the constructionrelevant tissues of anatomicallyby the precise and patterning physiologically and layering relevant of various tissues bycellular the precisecompositions patterning and and layeringbiomaterials of various [19, cellular22,23]. compositions and biomaterials [19,22,23]. Figure 1. 3D printing of biological constructs with heterogeneous and complex structures. Figure 1. 3D printing of biological constructs with heterogeneous and complex structures. Photographs Photographs of the 3D-printed (a) a mandible bone construct, (b) an ear cartilage with ear lobule, of the(c 3D-printed) a kidney with (a) renal a mandible pelvis, (d bone) a liver, construct, (e) a heart (b) cross an ear-section cartilage, and ( withf) an eararterial lobule, tree. (Reproducedc) a kidney with renalwith pelvis, permissions (d) a liver, from (e) [18 a heart,19,21, cross-section,22,24]. and (f) an arterial tree. Reproduced with permissions from [18,19,21,22,24]. Furthermore, 3D printing is gaining attention for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. This Furthermore,technology is capable 3D printing of creating is gaining channels attention with complex for the designs fabrication and lure of or microfluidic barb connectors devices. under This technologya one-step is capable fabrication of creatingprocess. Thus, channels it has with emerged complex as a designsway to produce and lure microfluidic or barb connectors devices with under a one-stepan automated fabrication and process. assembly Thus,-free it has3D fabrication emerged as process a way to[25 produce,26]. Therefore, microfluidic 3D printing devices of with a an automatedmicrofluidic and assembly-freedevice, as well 3Das fabricationthe living constructs process [in25 it,,26 can]. Therefore, be a promising 3D printing method ofto agenerate microfluidic device, as well as the living constructs in it, can be a promising method to generate organs-on-chips in a simpler way, but with more sophisticated heterogeneous tissue. With the convergence between 3D Bioengineering 2017, 4, 10 3 of 22 printing and organs-on-chips engineering, we probably can create complex artificial tissues with the proper microarchitecture for mechanical and chemical stimuli, and thereby, construct an advanced platform performing human-like functions. By doing so, 3D printing technology promises to lead organ-on-a-chip engineering into the next generation. In this paper, we discuss the possibilities of 3D printing for producing physiologically relevant organs-on-chips. We first introduce the current techniques (printing