We combine the principles of two different technologies - microfluidics and bioprinting - by creating a high-resolution tissue inside a chip.

 

Illumigel has developed a bioprinter and a method, by which high resolution light is used to photochemically 3D-print biologic hydrogel scaffolds inside microfluidic chips. These chips can be used to mimic vascularised cellular biology inside a slide-shaped format that is accessible to microscopic investigation in real time, while the tissue is being perfused and maintained live and functional.  

 

 

 The tissue is created photochemically by projecting light from a DMD device (digital light processing), which contains over one million micro-mirrors spread over an area the size of a fingernail. The light from each mirror represents a light point, which depending on its angle is turned on or off, thus forming a pixel. The combined light from a DMD device is then directed towards the biochip that contains a protein-based biological polymer mixed with human cells. When the polymer is exposed to light, cross-links occur that convert the polymer into a gel-like material similar to the material found naturally between cells. The gel will have the same geometry as the light that has cross-linked it. In this way, a living tissue with a designable architecture is created, where microchannels for blood vessels or regions with functionally active cells such as liver cells can be built-in. Since this structure is three-dimensional and biologically mimics natural tissue, the cells behave more naturally. They can now be used to study various biological processes, such as how a drug substance is broken down in liver cells, the formation of vascular capillary beds, and the interaction between epithelial cells and support cells in intestinal, lung, and kidney tissues. Furthermore, the technique can also be used to study disease models, such as cancer progression, where a tumor tissue is placed near a blood vessel channel.