Journal article
Functional 3D Neural Mini-Tissues from Printed Gel-Based Bioink and Human Neural Stem Cells
Q Gu, E Tomaskovic-Crook, R Lozano, Y Chen, RM Kapsa, Q Zhou, GG Wallace, JM Crook
Advanced Healthcare Materials | WILEY | Published : 2016
Abstract
Direct-write printing of stem cells within biomaterials presents an opportunity to engineer tissue for in vitro modeling and regenerative medicine. Here, a first example of constructing neural tissue by printing human neural stem cells that are differentiated in situ to functional neurons and supporting neuroglia is reported. The supporting biomaterial incorporates a novel clinically relevant polysaccharide-based bioink comprising alginate, carboxymethyl-chitosan, and agarose. The printed bioink rapidly gels by stable cross-linking to form a porous 3D scaffold encapsulating stem cells for in situ expansion and differentiation. Differentiated neurons form synaptic contacts, establish networks..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
J.M.C., G.G.W., Q.Z., and R.K. conceived the study. J.M.C., Q.G., and E.T.C. planned and/or executed experiments. R.L. and Y.C. provided technical support and guidance with data interpretation for diffusion studies and SEM, respectively. J.M.C. wrote the paper with contributions from Q.G. and E.T.C. All authors commented on the paper. J.M.C. and G.G.W. supervised all aspects of the work. The authors wish to acknowledge funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence Scheme (CE140100012), the use of facilities at the University of Wollongong Electron Microscopy Centre, support of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF)-Materials Node, and assistance provided by Dr. Johnson Chung with bioink and gel characterization, Dr. Xiao Liu and Dr. Zhilian Yue with bioprinting, Mr. Aaron Waters with COMSOL modeling, and Dr. Kerry Gilmore for critically reviewing the paper. Prof. Gordon Wallace acknowledges the support of the ARC through an ARC Laureate Fellowship (FL110100196), and Mr. Rodrigo Lozano acknowledges the support of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT, Mexico). Professor Qi Zhou acknowledges the support of the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CBA01300). The acknowledgements section of this article was changed on 22.06.2016.