Inkjet Printing For Biofabrication

Inkjet printing is a noncontact printing technology with high resolution, high throughput, and considerable reproducibility. Instead of printing normal ink, inkjet technology is also applied in the field of biofabrication to print living cells and other biological factors. Cell viability and function were demonstrated to be sustained after printing. Besides two dimensional cell patterns, three-dimensional cell-laden hydrogel structures can also be inkjet printed through cross-linking. Special phenomena such as the temporary permeability change of cell membranes were also observed during printing procedures, thus making it possible to achieve gene transfection through inkjet printing. Inkjet-printed biomolecule patterns with gradient concentration were also used to direct cell fates. Since the diversity of bioink and the capability of fabricating complex structures, inkjet bioprinting behaves as an effective tool in the field of biofabrication. The applications of inkjet printing include but not limit to drug formulation, tissue repair, and cancer research.