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It takes more than eight weeks to print an organ, and it is done using ‘BioInk’

Although it sounds strange, Bioink is the material that is used to produce artificially engineered living tissue through 3D printing technology. One of the most important characteristics of bioink is its ability to retain water, which is why it is also commonly referred to as ‘hydrogel’. It can be composed of only cells but other material which envelopes the cells is also added, and it acts as a scaffold, or attachment for the cells in the gel. This gel protects the cells during the printing process and helps with the cell growth and proliferation. Due to the high importance of the carrier gel, the term bioink is used to describe it alone, irrespective of the cells that grow on it. The hydrogel characteristic of bioink helps not only with the stability but it helps take the shape of the object being bioprinted. The hydrogel shifts between liquid-like and solid-like states according to need. Bioink delivers the cells using a nozzle into the printing bed, and to safely deliver it is one of its biggest tasks. Along with this, it also serves as a food source for the cells for necessary growth. These cells take in substances around them, metabolize them and release different substances.

Different types of materials can be used to develop these bioinks, such as agarose, alginate, collagen and hyaluronic acid.

primarily known for its benefits to the human skin and rejuvenating effects. It is a water loving molecule, and although its consistency is not always ideal in 3D bioprinting, cells proliferate and love its hydrophilic nature. Agarose is one of the most common materials out there, and it is a marine polysaccharide obtained from seaweed. It is extremely biocompatible and can be mixed with other polymers to create bioinks.

A good artificial tissue is one where all artificial elements have been replaced by natural ones, and this helps enable a key application of 3D bioprinting i.e. implantation of artificially produced organs or body parts. There are multiple applications of bioprinting that use bioink, such as in drug development, wound healing where 3D bioprinted models can be used for therapeutic procedures such as skin grafts, bone bandages and plastic surgery.