Filamented Light (FLight) Biofabrication of Highly Aligned Tissue-Engineered Constructs

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Biophotonics

Background:

• Current cell-laden hydrogels lack sufficient 3D topographical cues for aligned tissue development.
• Existing methods struggle to provide precise, rapid guidance for cellular maturation in engineered tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and characterize a novel biofabrication technique, filamented light (FLight), for creating cell-instructive hydrogel microfilament networks.
• To demonstrate FLight's capability in guiding cellular behavior and extracellular matrix deposition for anisotropic tissue engineering.

Main Methods:

• Utilized optical modulation instability to generate filamented light (FLight) beams for localized photoresin polymerization.
• Engineered hydrogel microfilaments with tunable diameters (2–30 µm) and spacing via light coherence length control.
• Assessed cell alignment, nuclear deformation, and extracellular matrix deposition using fibroblasts, tenocytes, endothelial cells, and myoblasts.

Main Results:

• FLight rapidly (<10 s) produced centimeter-scale hydrogel constructs with high cell viability.
• Microfilaments demonstrated significant cell-instructive properties, promoting alignment and matrix deposition.
• Tunable microfilament parameters and multidirectional capabilities were achieved, allowing for complex construct fabrication.

Conclusions:

• FLight biofabrication is a rapid, versatile method for creating anisotropic hydrogel scaffolds with precise 3D topographical guidance.
• This technique shows significant potential for advancing the development of complex, multicellular, and multimaterial engineered tissues.
• FLight offers a transformational approach for tissue engineering using photo-crosslinkable biomaterials.