Bio-Design and Manufacturing (2018) 1:211–214https://doi.org/10.1007/s42242-018-0016-z

LABORATORY REPORT

Research lab on 3D bioprinting of Zhejiang University

Lei Gao1,2 · Bin Zhang1,2 · Liang Ma1,2 · Yichen Luo1,2 ·Qian Xue1,2 · Zhanfeng Cui3 · Huayong Yang1,2

Received: 21 May 2018 / Accepted: 23 May 2018 / Published online: 4 June 2018© Zhejiang University Press 2018

Overview

The Research Lab on 3D Bioprinting of Zhejiang Universityfocuses on developing innovative 3D bioprinting equipmentand technology for healthcare and biomedical applications,since founded in 2017. To further enhance the internationalcollaboration, a joint international research lab on 3D bio-printing of Zhejiang University and University of Oxfordwas set up. The lab is based on the State Key Laboratoryof Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems and the OxfordCentre for Tissue Engineering and Bioprocessing. The aimof the lab is to establish a world class research and develop-ment platform on 3D bioprinting. The lab has extensive andclose collaborations with University of Oxford, UniversityCollege London and multidisciplinary partners of ZhejiangUniversity.

Currently, the lab focuses on the development of high-resolution 3D bioprinters with multi-materials printabilityand the applications of 3D bioprinting technology in engi-neering tissues and organs. In particular, the lab has devel-oped high-resolution 3D bioprinters with multiple print-heads, with the positioning accuracy up to 1µm with highviability and functionality of the printed cells and tissues.

B Huayong Yangyhy@zju.edu.cn

1 State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and MechatronicSystems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

2 School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou, China

3 Department of Engineering Science, Institute of BiomedicalEngineering, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK

Research staff

The lab is led by Professor Huayong Yang, Academician,Chinese Academy of Engineering in collaboration with Pro-fessorZhanfengCui, fellow,Royal academyof Engineeringfrom University of Oxford.

Professor Huayong Yang, Principle Investigator,Head, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang Univer-sityDirector, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mecha-tronic Systems, Zhejiang University

Professor Zhanfeng Cui, is a visiting professor in ZhejiangUniversity.Dr. Bin Zhang andDr. LiangMa are in charge of themanage-ment of the lab. Dr. Hua Ye, associate professor in Universityof Oxford, involves some collaborative research projects.Currently, there are 8 Ph.D. students and 8 Master studentsin the lab.

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Research directions

The research directions of the lab are as the following:

• The development of 3D bioprinting systems with highprecision and multiple DoF (degrees of freedom).

• Vascularized skin tissue printing and the diagnosis of skindiseases based on deep learning.

• The study of 3D bioprinting systems and method forcorneal substitution with complex surface.

• Control the alignment of cardiomyocytes and constructcardiac patch by 3D bioprinting.

• The construction of tumor in vitro chip model and com-plex tissues and organs with integrated 3D bioprinting.

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Facilities

The lab possesses 50m2 standard 10,000 level clean room forcell culture and cell bioprinting. It is equipped with severaladvanced facilities including stereo fluorescence microscopefor “bioink” preparation, post-printing characterization, andimmunofluorescence analysis.

Perspectives

Although 3D bioprinting technology has been improvedremarkably in aspects of printing speed, precision, repro-ducibility, etc., it is still in its early stage. Novel formulationsof “bioinks” are to be developed to keep the balance betweencytocompatibility and printability. The vascularization is alsoa major challenge for the longevity and long-term function-ing of printed tissues and organs. Nevertheless, we envisionthat 3D bioprinting will significantly speed up studies on tis-sue and organ engineering, as well as drug screening anddevelopment.

Recent event

The labwill holdHangzhou InternationalConference onBio-materials, Bio-Design and Manufacturing (BDMC 2018) inconjunction with H2020 BAMOS Project 2018 Meeting atHangzhou, China, during August 26–28, 2018. BDMC 2018

will be Co-chaired by Prof. Huayong Yang and Prof. Zhan-feng Cui. More than 200 researchers in this area all overthe world will attend this conference. The conference willhighlight the following topics:

Topic 1: Novel additive manufacturing mechatronic sys-tems, in particular, 3D bioprinting platformsTopic 2: Biomaterials and formulation of novel “bioinks”for tissue-specific applicationsTopic 3: Engineering tissues and organs in vitro and invivo

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Topic 4: Design and fabrication of organ-on-a-chip, dis-ease models, bioreactors, and medical and diagnosticdevicesTopic 5: Design of therapeutic products, cellular prod-ucts, and macromolecular productsSpecial session: BAMOS (Biomaterials and AdditiveManufacturing: Osteochondral Scaffold innovation,H2020-MSCA-RISE-2016-734156)

We warmly welcome you to participate in BDMC 2018!

References

1. Zhang B, Luo Y,Ma L, Gao L, Li Y, Xue Q et al (2018) 3D bioprint-ing: an emerging technology full of opportunities and challenges.Bio-Des Manuf 1:2–13

2. Yu M, Gong J, Zhou Y, Dong L, Lin Y, Ma L et al (2017) Surfacehydroxyl groups regulate the osteogenic differentiation of mes-enchymal stem cells on titanium and tantalummetals. J Mater ChemB 5:3955–3963

3. Pei X, Ma L, Zhang B, Sun J, Sun Y, Fan Y et al (2017) Creatinghierarchical porosity hydroxyapatite scaffolds with osteoinductionby three-dimensional printing and microwave sintering. Biofabrica-tion 9:045008

4. YuM,YouD, Zhuang J, Lin S, Dong L,Ma L et al (2017) Controlledrelease of naringin in metal-organic framework-loaded mineralizedcollagen coating to simultaneously enhance osseointegration andantibacterial activity. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 9:19698–19705

5. LiuC,ZhouY,SunM,LiQ,DongL,MaLet al (2017)Light-inducedcell alignment and harvest for anisotropic cell sheet technology.ACSAppl Mater Interfaces 9:36513–36524

6. Ma L, Barker J, Zhou C, Li W, Zhang J, Lin B et al (2012)Towards personalized medicine with a three-dimensional micro-scale perfusion-based two-chamber tissue model system. Bioma-terials 33:4353–4361

7. ZhangB, Gao L, Gu L, YangH, LuoY,MaL (2017) High-resolution3D bioprinting system for fabricating cell-laden hydrogel scaffoldswith high cellular activities. Procedia CIRP 65:219–224

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