| | JUNE 20198CIOReviewBIOPRINTING:GAINING TRACTIONBy William Whitford, Strategic Solutions Leader, BioProcess, GE Healthcare Life Sciences· Tell us a bit about yourself, and what got you into the area of bioprintingI'm currently a Strategic Solutions Leader at GE Healthcare. I joined the company as an R&D Leader developing products supporting protein biological and vaccine production in mammalian and invertebrate cell lines. Lately, I explore emerging technologies and identify areas in which GE can contribute to the field. I also enjoy such activities as serving on the editorial advisory board for BioProcess International.· What specifically is 3D bioprinting, and what special technologies does it demand?As most are aware, 3D printing (or additive manufacturing) is the creation three-dimensional products by the computer controlled deposition, or solidification, of raw materials­such as by the fusion of powder grains. An intermediate technology is the 3D printing of many diverse constructs in medicine. This include 3D printed tablets or pills, as well as the 3D printing of such biomaterials as calcium phosphates or biocompatible polymer hydrogels to be used as scaffolds in implantable biomedical devices. 3D bioprinting is quite similar, except that the final printed product contains living cells. 3D bioprinting is a deposition of micro-channels or micro-droplets of a fluid containing cells, usually with added polymeric scaffold or matrix components. This results in a firm 3D array of living cells. Often, a layer-by-layer method of depositing the "bioink" (the cell-laden solutions feeding the printers) creates 3D tissue-like structures. Many types of bioprinters are used in bioprinting, and employ such different technologies as laser-, extrusion-, and inkjet-based printing. Each technology has its own capabilities and limitations, and each requires appropriate William WhitfordIN MYOPINION
< Page 7 | Page 9 >