Project Details
Projekt
MeatPrint - Exploring the mechanophysical and biochemical interplay of hydrogel additive formulations and bovine muscle and fat cells of different differentiation stages in high-scale 3D bioprinting processes
Subject Area
Biomaterials
Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 555001364
The project MeatPrint explores the mechanophysical and biochemical interplay of hydrogel additive formulations and bovine muscle and fat cells of different differentiation stages in high-scale 3D bioprinting processes. To mimic the complex morphology and hierarchical structuring of living tissues, 3D bioprinting techniques that enable precise positioning of cells and ECM materials have been investigated in the field of tissue engineering for several years. To date, these techniques have been used primarily as batch processes. The limited scalability of such processes, is of secondary importance for the field of regenerative medicine. However, for the production of in vitro tissue models for pharmaceutical research or for applications in the field of cellular agriculture (e.g. cultured meat), which will require larger production volumes in the future, continuous printing processes that allow scalable biofabrication are required. This is where the present research project comes in, in which screen printing is investigated as a high-scale biofabrication tool. Depending on the printing modality, in 3D-bioprinting different interactions occur between the nozzle or application system used, the printing material and the cells contained therein. These can have a lasting effect on both the texture of the tissue and cell fate. The aim of this research project is to investigate the aforementioned interactions and their effects on survival rate, morphology and gene expression of two cell types relevant for cellular agriculture (primary bovine muscle and fat cells) in different differentiation levels. To this end, screen printing will be explored as a scalable bioprinting technology and compared to microextrusion printing. The interactions will be explored as a function of relevant printing parameters (speed, printing volume, dispensing related shear stresses) during and after printing. A particularly intriguing question here will be how the two cell types, which differ markedly in morphology (round fat cells vs. fused muscle fibers) and biomechanics (fatty acid-rich vesicles vs. actin- and myosin-rich cytoskeleton) depending on the degree of differentiation, respond to the external stimuli. The empirical data collected will be used to build interaction models that will allow conclusions to be drawn about the influence of printing-dependent shear forces on primary animal cells. Finally, it will be explored whether the printing-related stimuli also lead to a modulation of cell-cell interactions in co-cultures of both cell types. The knowledge gained in the project will provide an important contribution to the future scaling up of bioprinting methods and thus to the exploration of diverse translational possibilities in the fields of medicine, pharmaceutical research and cellular agriculture.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
