The rapid evolution of in situ bioprinting technologies is fundamentally transforming clinical strategies in tissue engineering. By enabling the direct deposition of living tissues at the heart of the intervention site, this approach represents a significant leap forward. It paves the way for optimizing repair processes and enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Driven by innovations in Bioprinting and robotic medical platforms, recent preclinical studies (notably in murine models) demonstrate that these systems achieve remarkable cell placement precision, fostering swift biological integration and laying the groundwork for real-time surgical applications.
Key Technological Principles of In Situ Bioprinting
In situ bioprinting overcomes these obstacles by fabricating tissue layer-by-layer, directly at the defect site, utilizing robotic or computer-aided guidance. Bioprinting workstations designed for on-site printing deliver perfectly defined droplets containing both biomaterials and viable cells with exceptional spatial resolution.
Operational Precision via Robotics and Computer Assistance
Integrating bioprinting hardware with robotic or computer-aided surgical platforms is crucial. It ensures positional accuracy, reproducibility, and safety during in vivo procedures. These automated systems are vital for marrying biological requirements with the mechanical stability needed for interventions on living organisms, paving the way for minimally invasive approaches.
The synergy between imaging modalities (like optical imaging or MRI) and real-time print monitoring enhances efficiency, allowing practitioners to validate tissue response and even adjust the intervention protocol during surgery.
Experimental Results: In Vivo Applications
Murine calvarial critical-size defects are the standard model for evaluating bone regeneration. Recent research has used Laser-Assisted Bioprinting (LAB) to deposit mesenchymal stromal cells within composite matrices (collagen and nano-hydroxyapatite) directly into these defects.
These pioneer experiments proved the technical feasibility of delivering living cell suspensions with spatial specificity, as well as the successful physiological integration of the constructs without adverse inflammatory reactions. Importantly, simply adjusting the geometry and density of the printed cellular patterns led to measurable differences in subsequent bone regeneration, underscoring the vital role of architectural design.
Control of Cellular Arrangement: The Biological Impact
Differentiated designs—from a simple linear grid to more sophisticated arrays—directly modulate cell-to-cell communication and the distribution of signaling gradients. For instance, dense meshes of stromal cells can accelerate early tissue closure, while more open architectures promote vascular infiltration and remodeling.
This transition from uniform scaffolding to targeted heterogeneity is the essence of in situ bioprinting’s transformative potential: we are finally closing the gaps left by conventional approaches.
Towards Biofabrication in the Operating Room
As we transition from proof-of-concept to clinical validation, in situ bioprinting offers clear advantages for reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, and craniofacial repair. Personalized medicine will benefit from our ability to adapt constructs intraoperatively, leveraging real-time data to optimize shape, composition, and cell sourcing strategies.
Ongoing research focuses on expanding the range of in situ biomaterials, integrating advanced regulatory factors, and refining robotic guidance systems. We anticipate closed-loop feedback systems that will dynamically adjust printing parameters using imaging and mechanobiological markers during the procedure.
- Developing bio-inks that incorporate multiple progenitor or differentiated cell lineages.
- Integrating real-time imaging for adaptive control over print paths.
Collaboration among bioengineers, clinicians, and regulatory experts is vital. It will ensure that these in situ bioprinting methodologies adhere to the most stringent safety standards while successfully addressing complex biomedical challenges.
Integration of in situ bioprinting approach in the NGB platform thanks to ViewPrintTM module
Leveraging our experience on situ bioprinting and some of our patents, we design the NGB platform with an embedded microscope. With a 2µm micron resoution and 10x10mm Field-of-View, this microscope enables to detect some specific areas of interest onto substrates like microfluidc chips and organ-on-a-chips. where cells and biomaterials are printed. The bioprinting pattern is then adapted to features observed by the microscope like channels, holes… The overall process is driven by a software module called ViewPrintTM available as an option in the NGB robotic bioprinters.