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Laser-assisted bioprinting for creating on-demand patterns of human osteoprogenitor cells and nano-hydroxyapatite

Developing tools to reproduce and manipulate the cell micro-environment, including the location and shape of cell patterns, is essential for tissue engineering. Parallel to inkjet printing and pressure-operated mechanical extruders, laser-assisted bioprinting (LAB) has emerged as an alternative technology to fabricate two- and three-dimensional tissue engineering products. The objective of this work was to determine laser printing parameters for patterning and assembling nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) and human osteoprogenitors (HOPs) in two and three dimensions with LAB. The LAB workstation used in this study comprised an infrared laser focused on a quartz ribbon that was coated with a thin absorbing layer of titanium and a layer of bioink. The scanning system, quartz ribbon and substrate were piloted by dedicated software, allowing the sequential printing of different biological materials into two and/or three dimensions. nHA printing material (bioink) was synthesized by chemical precipitation and was characterized prior and following printing using transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. HOP bioink was prepared using a 30 million cells ml−1 suspension in culture medium and cells were characterized after printing using a Live/Dead assay and osteoblastic phenotype markers (alcaline phosphatase and osteocalcin). The results revealed that LAB allows printing and organizing nHA and HOPs in two and three dimensions. LAB did not alter the physico-chemical properties of nHA, nor the viability, proliferation and phenotype of HOPs over time (up to 15 days). This study has demonstrated that LAB is a relevant method for patterning nHA and osteoblastic cells in 2D, and is also adapted to the bio-fabrication of 3D composite materials.