Development of modular extrusion bioprinter prototype

Introduction: The aim of this work was to develop a prototype of a modular extrusion bioprinter capable of performing 2D and 3D printing with hydrogels based on sodium alginate and gelatin. Materials and methods: The bioprinter uses Cartesian coordinate system, the print head is movable in Y and Z axes, the printing platform is in X axis and equipped with cooling system. Constructs were printed with 3 types of gels: based on gelatin with the addition various concentrations of xanthan gum; based on combination of gelatin and sodium alginate; based on gelatin and xanthan gum with the addition of carbon nanotubes. Results: The constructs from various gels corresponded to the structure determined by their digital models. Conclusions: The developed system allows performing 2D and 3D printing with gels based on gelatin, sodium alginate, including those containing carbon nanotubes and/or xanthan gum for a wide range of experimental tasks.