Thermoplastic injection molding of bioprinter cartridges using silicon inserts

Patients who suffer from severe burns require immediate wound closure to ensure survival and facilitate healing. The current gold standard in surgical practice is the use of split-surface autographs, allographs, or skin substitutes, but limitation range from the lack of layered tissue organization, the potential for immunological rejection, and the need for high quantities of donated tissue. At the Guenther laboratory, we aim to address these issues by designing a microfluid cartridge-based 3D bioprinter which allows the synthesis of cell-embedded, multi-layered gels in a single, continuous process in contrast to traditional top-down assembly approaches. In close collaboration with engineers at SMT Americas, we will improve the design of existing microfluidic cartridges to enable scalable manufacturing of these 3D bioprinting components.

Faculty Supervisor:

Axel Guenther

Student:

Richard Cheng

Partner:

SMT Americas

Discipline:

Engineering - biomedical

Sector:

Nanotechnologies

University:

University of Toronto