Experimental study of the stable droplet formation process during micro-valve-based three-dimensional bioprinting

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting offers great potential for the fabrication of complex 3D cell-laden constructs for clinical and research applications. The droplet formation process is the important first step in droplet-based 3D bioprinting, affecting the positional accuracy and printing fidelity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of fluids (1994) 2023-01, Vol.35 (1)
Main Authors: O'Mahony, Aidan P., Barber, Tracie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuation
Bioengineering
Dimensionless numbers
Droplets
Ejection
Phase diagrams
Satellites
Surface tension
Three dimensional printing
Weber number
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Summary:Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting offers great potential for the fabrication of complex 3D cell-laden constructs for clinical and research applications. The droplet formation process is the important first step in droplet-based 3D bioprinting, affecting the positional accuracy and printing fidelity. In this paper, the drop ejection behavior, thresholds for stable droplet generation, and formation of satellite drops are studied, under various ink properties, printing conditions, and input cell concentrations using a micro-valve-based 3D bioprinter. Three droplet ejection behaviors are identified under different conditions: an isolated stable droplet, satellites coalescing into a single droplet, and the presence of one/multiple satellites. The droplet state is represented by a phase diagram bounded by a dimensionless Z number (the inverse of the Ohnesorge number) and a jet Weber number, Wej, to define the printability of the utilized bioprinter. The printability range is defined as 2 
ISSN:1070-6631
1089-7666
DOI:10.1063/5.0129985