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Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Fabrication of Engineered Vascular Flaps Using 3D Printing Technologies
Published on: May 19, 2022
3D bioprinting of biomimetic aortic vascular constructs with self-supporting cells
Can Kucukgul1, S Burce Ozler, Ilyas Inci
1Industrial and Manufacturing System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul, 34956, Turkey.
Insights
Researchers developed computer-aided algorithms for scaffold-free 3D bioprinting of vascular tissues. This innovative approach aims to overcome limitations of traditional grafts and create patient-specific aortic constructs.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading global cause of mortality.
- Traditional vascular grafting methods face significant challenges, including donor site morbidity, limited availability, and immunological rejection.
- Tissue engineering offers promising alternatives, with recent focus shifting towards scaffold-free techniques to avoid biomaterial-related complications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel computer-aided algorithms for scaffold-free 3D bioprinting of biomimetic macrovascular structures.
- To create a self-supported 3D bioprinting strategy for vascular tissue engineering.
- To generate a patient-specific aortic tissue construct using advanced computational and bioprinting methods.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a computer model of a human aorta using imaging techniques and computational algorithms.
- Development of optimized 3D bioprinting path planning for a self-supported model.
- Layer-by-layer 3D bioprinting of mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cell aggregates and supporting hydrogels.
Main Results:
- Successful development of computer-aided algorithms for scaffold-free vascular bioprinting.
- Implementation of a self-supported 3D bioprinting method for macrovascular structures.
- Fabrication of an aortic tissue construct using MEF cell aggregates and hydrogels.
Conclusions:
- The developed computational algorithms and self-supported 3D bioprinting method show potential for creating scaffold-free vascular tissue constructs.
- This approach addresses limitations of traditional grafting and scaffold-based tissue engineering.
- Further research may lead to the clinical application of bioprinted vascular grafts.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of deaths throughout the world. Vascular diseases are mostly treated with autografts and blood vessel transplantations. However, traditional grafting methods have several problems including lack of suitable harvest sites, additional surgical costs for harvesting procedure, pain, infection, lack of donors, and even no substitutes at all. Recently, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches are used to regenerate damaged or diseased tissues. Most of the tissue engineering investigations have been based on the cell seeding into scaffolds by providing a suitable environment for cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. Because of the challenges such as difficulties in seeding cells spatially, rejection, and inflammation of biomaterials used, the recent tissue engineering studies focus on scaffold-free techniques. In this paper, the development of novel computer aided algorithms and methods are developed for 3D bioprinting of scaffold-free biomimetic macrovascular structures. Computer model mimicking a real human aorta is generated using imaging techniques and the proposed computational algorithms. An optimized three-dimensional bioprinting path planning are developed with the proposed self-supported model. Mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cell aggregates and support structures (hydrogels) are 3D bioprinted layer-by-layer according to the proposed self-supported method to form an aortic tissue construct.
