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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Colony development of laser printed eukaryotic

(yeast and microalga) microorganisms in co-culture

1
3
1*
2
Behnam Taidi , Guillaume Lebernede , Lothar Koch , Patrick Perre and Boris Chichkov 3,4*
1 LGPM, Centralesupelec, Université de Paris-Saclay, Grande Voie des Vignes, 92295 Châtenay-Malabry, France
2 Sup’Biotech, 66 rue Guy Môquet, 94800 Villejuif, France
3 Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Nanotechnology Department, Hollerithallee 8, 30419 Hannover, Germany
4 Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Quantenoptik, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany

Abstract: Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) bioprinting is one of a group of techniques that have been largely
applied for printing mammalian cells so far. Bioprinting allows precise placement of viable cells in a defined matrix
with the aim of directed three-dimensional development of tissues. In this study, laser bioprinting is used to precisely
place eukaryotic microorganisms in specific patterns that allow growth and microscopic observation of the organisms’
micro-colonies. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. bayanus and Chlorella vulgaris are used as model organisms for this
purpose. Growth and development of the micro-colonies are studied via confocal microscopy and the colonies’ growth
rates are determined by image analysis. The developed protocols for printing of microorganisms and growth-rate deter-
mination of the micro-colonies are very promising for future studies of colony growth and development.
Keywords: laser-induced forward transfer, bioprinting, printing of microorganisms, growth rates of micro-colonies,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Chlorella vulgaris

*Correspondence to: Behnam Taidi, LGPM, Centralesupelec, Université de Paris-Saclay, Grande Voie des Vignes, 92295 Châ-
tenay-Malabry, France; Email:behnam.taidi@centralesupelec.fr; Boris Chichkov, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Nanotechnology Depart-
ment, Hollerithallee 8, 30419 Hannover, Germany; Email: b.chichkov@lzh.de

Received: December 18, 2015; Accepted: March 1, 2016; Published Online: June 22, 2016
Citation: Taidi B, Lebernede G, Koch L, et al. 2016, Colony development of laser printed eukaryotic (yeast and microalga) micro-
organisms in co-culture. International Journal of Bioprinting, vol.2(2): 37–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.18063/IJB.2016.02.001

1. Introduction ogy , where soil particles were printed unto solid
Laser printing has already been used in microbiol-
C media in order to isolate hitherto unidentified organ-
[1]
urrent progress in biotechnology relies heavily
on strain characteristics and the development
isms that could only exist in specific configuration in
of strains with new properties. Nowadays,
molecular biology offers outstanding possi- their symbiont. Although this is possible to some ex-
bilities with an emerging need for fast screening, se- tent through classic microbiological methods, the
lection, and assessment methods. Beyond these re- printing process brings in an unparalleled level of pre-
quirements, techniques that allow fast industrialisation cision. Using traditional methods, cell suspensions
of selected strains would enable rapid progress up the could be diluted in sterile media and placed manually
TRL (Technology Readiness Level) towards fast in- as droplets on certain positions on the growth matrix;
dustrial implantation. Laser printing of microorgan- realistically, the volume of a droplet cannot be smaller
isms offers completely new solutions to fill the gap than 1 µL and the precision of the human hand would
between the creation of GMO in silico and industrial require that the droplets placed no closer than 2–3 mm
production with these organisms. apart. Printing micro-droplets of cell suspensions al-

Colony development of laser printed eukaryotic (yeast and microalga) microorganisms in co-culture. © 2016 Behnam Taidi, et al. This is an Open Access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/),
permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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