Bioxolography Using Diphenyliodonium Chloride and <i>N</i> ‐Vinylpyrrolidone Enables Rapid High‐Resolution Volumetric 3D Printing of Spatially Encoded Living Matter
Light-based volumetric bioprinting enables fabrication of cubic centimeter-sized living materials with micrometer resolution in minutes. Xolography is a light sheet-based volumetric printing technology that offers unprecedented volumetric generation rates and print resolutions for hard plastics. However, the limited solubility and reactivity of current dual-color photoinitiators (DCPIs) in aqueous media have hindered their application for high-resolution bioprinting of living matter. Here, we present a novel three-component formulation that drastically improves photoreactivity and thereby enables high-resolution, rapid, and cytocompatible Xolographic biofabrication of intricately architected yet mechanically robust living materials. To achieve this, various relevant additives are systematically explored, which revealed that diphenyliodonium chloride and N-vinylpyrrolidone strongly enhance D-mediated photoreactivity, as confirmed by dual-color photo-rheology. This enables Xolographic bioprinting of gelatin methacryloyl-based bioresins, producing >1 cm<sup>3</sup> constructs at ≈20 µm positive and 125 µm negative resolution within minutes. Multimaterial printing, molecular patterning, and grayscale-mediated mechanical patterning are explored to programmably create intricate, biomimetic, and concentration-controlled architectures. We demonstrate the Bioxolographic printing of various cell types, showing excellent cell viability, compatibility with long-term culture, and ability for nascent protein deposition. These results position Bioxolography as a transformative platform for rapid, scalable, high-resolution fabrication of functional living materials with encoded chemical and mechanical properties.
Authors
- Niklas Felix König (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9293-3734)
- Alexis Wolfel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4577-1699)
- Marieke Meteling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3562-7921)
- Castro Johnbosco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3617-4603)
- Jeroen Leijten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8063-207X)
- Annalise Anspach
- Jos Olijve
Institutions
- University of Twente (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2025-04-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202501052
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- 3D Printing in Biomedical Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.04
Funders
- University of Twente
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council