Page 388 - IJB-10-2

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Man vs. machine: Automated bioink mixing

device improves reliability and reproducibility
of bioprinting results compared to human

operators

Dongwei Wu , Shumin Pang , Viola Röhrs , Johanna Berg , Ahmed S. M. Ali ,
1
2
1
1
1
Yikun Mei , Mathias Ziersch , Beatrice Tolksdorf , and Jens Kurreck *
1
1
1
1
1 Chair of Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin,
Germany
2 Chair of Advanced Ceramic Materials, Institute of Material Science and Technology, Technische
Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
The bioink mixing process is highly relevant to the bioink quality, which is the
basis for reproducible extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting (EBB).
Currently, most bioinks mixed by skilled human operators show variations in terms
of cell homogeneity and biological properties as well as other properties. For
preparation of many types of bioinks, striking the balance between homogeneity
and cell viability remains a major challenge. This study investigates the relationship
between bioink homogeneity and mixing parameters, particularly mixing speed and
number of exchanges, utilizing a customized automated device. We found that up to
*Corresponding author: a certain point, increasing the rate of mixing led to a better distribution of cells within
Jens Kurreck the bioink, but beyond that point, there was a detrimental effect on cell viability. In
(jens.kurreck@tu-berlin.de)
contrast, the mixing number had less impact on the physiological properties of the
Citation: Wu D, Pang S, Röhrs V, cells in the bioink. Furthermore, a comparison between skilled human and machine
et al. Man vs. machine: Automated bioink mixing revealed that the machine consistently provided better outcomes
bioink mixing device improves
reliability and reproducibility of in terms of bioink homogeneity, cell distribution, and cell viability, highlighting
bioprinting results compared to the advantages and importance of standardizing the bioink mixing process. The
human operators. Int J Bioprint. methodology and approaches in this study can improve the reproducibility and
2024;10(2):1974.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.1974 reliability of EBB bioink and may thereby advance the field of 3D bioprinting in
various applications.
Received: October 5, 2023
Accepted: December 14, 2023
Published Online: February 12, 2024
Keywords: Bioink; Hydrogel mixing; Mixing device; Bioprinting; Homogeneity;
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). Cell viability
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, 1. Introduction
provided the original work is
properly cited. Bioprinting has become a widely used technology in various fields of biomedical
1-3
Publisher’s Note: AccScience research. Among the different methodologies, extrusion-based bioprinting (EBB) has
Publishing remains neutral with become the most widely used approach. This is primarily attributed to its affordability
4,5
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional and maneuverability, which allow for the creation of intricate three-dimensional (3D)
affiliations. structures that closely resemble the architecture and microenvironment of native tissues.

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 380 doi: 10.36922/ijb.1974