Project Portugal 2030

Summary

The goal of this project is to apply fluid mechanics concepts to develop high precision bioprinter, and related bioink technology, suitable to print multispecies biofilms relevant for chronic wound research and treatment, maximizing its scientific, social and economic impact. This goal can be reached with the following objectives: 1. Develop and optimized a nozzle suitable for high precision inkjet 3D printing, characterizing the multiphase flow in the nozzle by numerical and experimental methods. 2. Develop rheologically optimized bioinks, comprising solvent, hydrogels and surfactants that can tune the rheological properties of the ink, to which cells and nutrients will be added, suitable to be delivered to the printing surface and form biofilms. 3. Assemble a bioprinter comprising a xy stage able to move with enough precision to bioprint cell layers and cell tissues with a sub 30 micron precision and the optimized nozzle able to move in the z direction. 4. Define biological requirements for a bioink suitable for chronic wound related biofilms and produce a bioink precursor containing cell nutrients and cells. 5. Create biofilms by design using the bioprinter. The bioprinter will be used to create model biofilms and study them to enable a better understanding of mechanisms of cooperation between cells in a biofilm. The system will be tested to produce microstructured biofilms. The biofilms will be designed a priori, following research hypothesis about internal working of biofilms. 6. Characterize the biofilms. The printed biofilms will be characterized in several dimensions: structure, oxygen consumption, glucose consumption, protein and RNA expression. This data will be made available to a team studying the internal functioning of biofilms. 7. At the educational level, the project intends to train a PhD on bioprinting and characterization of biofilms. Several master students will have the opportunity to develop a thesis on the subjects of the project (biofilm characterization, PNA-FISH, droplet microfluidics, CFD of multiphase flows, rheology of hydrogel bioinks). The project also intends to reach undergraduate students through the organization of workshops in bioprinting for students of Porto University. 8. The project intends also to strength between the CEFT team members and PNA-FISH group from LEPABE by developing tools and knowledge that will improve the multidisciplinary work involving the two teams. The dissemination plan will allow us to open the collaboration to other research teams, public institutions and private companies. The timeframe for this objectives is defined elsewhere in the project (see the timeline and the milestones).