Page 46 - IJB-9-3

International Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Printing channels with millimeter-scale curvature

and deciphering their effect on the proliferation,
morphology, orientation, and migration of

M-22 cells

Huinan Lai , Yuye Huang , Jun Yin *, Jin Qian *
2†
1
1†
3
1 Department of Engineering Mechanics, Key Laboratory of Soft Machines and Smart Devices of
Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
2 Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation, Central Laboratory, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo
315010, China
3
The State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control Systems, Key Laboratory of 3D
Printing Process and Equipment of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou 310028, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: 3D Printing of Advanced Biomedical Devices)

Abstract

† These authors contributed equally Complex curved structures of tissues have been recognized to influence the
to this work. behavior and function of cells. Tissue curvatures sensed by cells are approximately
*Corresponding authors: on the millimeter scale. However, previous research mainly focused on the effect of
Jun Yin (junyin@zju.edu.cn) micro- and nano-scale spatial curved structures, underestimating the significance
Jin Qian of milli-scale curvature. Here, we employed fused deposition modeling (FDM) with
(jqian@zju.edu.cn)
two-stage temperature control, superfine cone-shaped needle, stable air pressure,
Citation: Lai H, Huang Y, Yin J, and precise motion platform for the customized production of homogeneous,
et al., 2023, Printing channels precise, and curved fibers; the responses of M-22 cells to FDM-printed curved
with millimeter-scale curvature
and deciphering their effect on channels with radii of 1.5 to 3 mm were systematically investigated. The cells aligned
the proliferation, morphology, with these curved channels and exhibited various aspect ratios in the channels with
orientation, and migration of different curvatures. Cell proliferation, migration speed of single cells, and front-end
M-22 cells. Int J Bioprint, 9(3): 681.
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.681 speed of collective cells were tightly regulated by these curved structures. Also, a
computational model based on force equilibrium was proposed to explore the
Received: August 10, 2022
Accepted: November 8, 2022 essential factors and mechanisms of curvature affecting cell behavior. Our simulation
Published Online: February 9, results demonstrated that the curvature and width of channels, along with the
2023 relative size of cells, can significantly impact the cell–boundary interaction force and
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). the number of valid pseudopodia generated by cells in the process of cell migration.
This is an Open Access article These results provide a comprehensive understanding of the effect of milli-scale
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution curvature on the cells and underpin the design of scaffolds that can be produced
License, permitting distribution easily with sophisticated micro- and nano-scale curved features to regulate cell
and reproduction in any medium, behavior in tissue engineering.
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: Whioce Keywords: Fused deposition modeling; Curvature effect; Curved channel;
Publishing remains neutral with Cell behavior; Migration
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional
affiliations.

Volume 9 Issue 3 (2023) 38 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.681