Formed 3D Bio-Scaffolds via Rapid Prototyping Technology

The construction of biomaterial scaffolds for cell seeding is now seen as the most common approach for producing artificial tissue as compared with cell self-assembly and Acellular matrix techniques. This paper describes the use of synthetic and natural polymeric material shaped into 3D biological matrices by using Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology. Recent advances in RP technology have greatly enhanced the range of biomaterials that can now be constructed into scaffolds, also allowing for maximized control of the pore size and architecture. Bioplotting is one such method which allows the dispensing of various biomaterials into a media bath which has similar rheological properties and acts as mechanical support and in most cases a cross-linking agent to produce high quality scaffolds. This method was used to construct scaffolds using agarose and gelatin with tight interconnecting pores which aim to enhance cell growth. Bioplotting was also used to pattern microchanneled layers in one direction with a PEG gel containing cell adhesive RGD peptide sequence, when seeded with C2C12 myoblasts demonstrated that cells responded to their topographical environment and aligned along the direction of the layered microchannels. This result indicates that this technique can be used to produce 3D scaffolds which aid tissue regeneration for physiologically functional tissue.