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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Three-dimensional Patterning of Engineered Biofilms with a Do-it-yourself Bioprinter

Three-dimensional Patterning of Engineered Biofilms with a Do-it-yourself Bioprinter

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Printing multistrain bacterial patterns with a piezoelectric inkjet printer.

Jack Merrin¹, Stanislas Leibler, John S Chuang

¹Laboratory of Living Matter and Center for Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America.

|July 27, 2007

Summary

Researchers developed an inexpensive bacterial piezoelectric inkjet printer for high-resolution cell deposition. This novel device enables precise patterning of microorganisms and chemicals, advancing microbial interaction studies.

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Area of Science:

Microbiology and Bioengineering
Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology

Background:

Precise spatial arrangement of microorganisms is crucial for studying microbial interactions and developing novel biotechnologies.
Existing methods for microbial patterning can be complex, expensive, or lack the required resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and characterize an affordable and high-resolution piezoelectric inkjet printer for depositing bacterial cells and chemicals.
To demonstrate the printer's capability in creating ordered microbial arrays.

Main Methods:

Adaptation of an oligonucleotide microarrayer design for bacterial printing.
Characterization of droplet volume, cell distribution per droplet, and printing frequency effects.
Assessment of printing resolution and cell viability post-printing.

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Main Results:

The bacterial piezoelectric inkjet printer successfully deposited small droplets (tens of picoliters) with high resolution.
Printed arrays of two different fluorescently labeled bacterial strains were created.
High printed viability of Escherichia coli (exceeding 98.5%) was achieved.

Conclusions:

The developed piezoelectric inkjet printer offers a simple, cost-effective solution for precise microbial patterning.
This technology has significant potential for advancing research in microbial consortia, synthetic biology, and high-throughput screening.