Page 78 - ESAM-1-4

Engineering Science in

Additive Manufacturing

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
TwinPrint: A dual-arm robotic 3D bioprinting

solution for multi-material biofabrication of soft
matter constructs

Noofa Hammad 1† , Zainab N. Khan 1† , Hibatallah Alwazani 1,2 , Kowther
Kahin 1 , Dana M. Alhattab 1,3 , Christian Baumgartner 4 , and Charlotte A. E.
Hauser 1,3,4 *

1 Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering,
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Makkah Province,
Saudi Arabia
2 Communication Theory Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of British Columbia-
Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada
3 Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology,
Thuwal, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia
4 Institute of Health Care Engineering with European Testing Center of Medical Devices, Graz
University of Technology (TU Graz), Graz, Styria, Austria

Abstract

† These authors contributed equally As the field of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting gains increased momentum,
to this work. complex 3D bioprinters are being developed to keep up with the needs of
*Corresponding author: biofabrication and tissue engineering. Cartesian-based linear 3D bioprinters have
Charlotte A. E. Hauser facilitated the fabrication of 3D biological constructs and scaffolds. However, to
(charlotte.hauser-funke@tugraz.at) achieve meaningful advancement in biofabrication, 3D bioprinters need increased
Citation: Hammad N , Khan ZN, freedom of motion, seamless multi-material printing, full automation, and ease of
Alwazani H, et al. TwinPrint: A dual- use. In this paper, we propose TwinPrint, a dual-arm robotic 3D bioprinting system,
arm robotic 3D bioprinting solution
for multi-material biofabrication of designed to be compatible with soft bioinks to build multi-material constructs,
soft matter constructs. Eng Sci Add crucial for creating functional tissue. The uniquely integrated robotic 3D bioprinter—
Manuf. 2025;1(4):025410025. comprising an in-house fabricated coaxial nozzle, two 4-axis robotic arms, six
doi: 10.36922/ESAM025410025
microfluidic pumps, and a software interface—work harmoniously as a single unit.
Received: October 9, 2025 We showcase the development of the Python-based software and Graphical User
Revised: November 13, 2025 Interface, integrating all components into a single easy-to-use interface. Due to their
human-like and instantaneous gelation properties, peptide-based bioinks were used
Accepted: November 21, 2025
as printing material to test the system. Developed in our laboratory as an alternative
Published online: December 5, to gelatin- and alginate-based bioinks, they avoided chemical and ultraviolet-
2025
crosslinking by solidifying instantaneously under physiological conditions. For system
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). performance testing, acellular and cellular constructs were observed for structural
This is an Open-Access article fidelity, multi-material layering, printing accuracy, cell viability, and proliferation.
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Overall, our proposed system showcases an innovative integration of robotics for
License, permitting distribution, biofabrication to expedite the printing process and enable multi-task print protocols.
and reproduction in any medium, By saving time, increasing degrees of freedom, and expanding printing complexity,
provided the original work is
properly cited. we believe TwinPrint is a promising next step for biofabrication.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: 3D bioprinting; Extrusion-based printing; Peptide bioinks; Multi-robot
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional systems; Multi-material construct
affiliations.

Volume 1 Issue 4 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/ESAM025410025