Biohybrid 3D Printing of a Tissue-Sensor Platform for Wireless, Real-Time, and Continuous Monitoring of Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Hydrogel sensing platforms for monitoring contractility in in vitro cardiac models

Heart failure (HF) affects over 64 million people globally, marked by high incidence and mortality rates. Accurate measurements of myocardial contractility are crucial for evaluating cardiac pathomechanisms and monitoring disease progression. Hydrogel sensing devices, known for their flexibility, programmable structures, biocompatibility, and cell adhesion, are ideal for studying cardiac function, minimizing disruption to cardiomyocytes, and supporting long-term culture and monitoring. These platforms, while employing diverse detection principles to accurately measure cell contractility, still face challenges in achieving long-term stability and durability. This review summarizes current methods for monitoring cardiomyocyte contractility, emphasizes the significant impact of substrate mechanical properties on cellular function, and explores recent advances in hydrogel-based platforms for monitoring cell contraction forces. It also discusses the technical challenges and future prospects for measuring cardiac systolic function with these devices.

Engineering cardiology with miniature hearts

Cardiac organoids offer sophisticated 3D structures that emulate key aspects of human heart development and function. This review traces the evolution of cardiac organoid technology, from early stem cell differentiation protocols to advanced bioengineering approaches. We discuss the methodologies for creating cardiac organoids, including self-organization techniques, biomaterial-based scaffolds, 3D bioprinting, and organ-on-chip platforms, which have significantly enhanced the structural complexity and physiological relevance of in vitro cardiac models. We examine their applications in fundamental research and medical innovations, highlighting their potential to transform our understanding of cardiac biology and pathology. The integration of multiple cell types, vascularization strategies, and maturation protocols has led to more faithful representations of the adult human heart. However, challenges remain in achieving full functional maturity and scalability. We critically assess the current limitations and outline future directions for advancing cardiac organoid technology. By providing a comprehensive analysis of the field, this review aims to catalyze further innovation in cardiac tissue engineering and facilitate its translation to clinical applications.

Bioprinting approaches in cardiac tissue engineering to reproduce blood-pumping heart function

The heart, with its complex structural and functional characteristics, plays a critical role in sustaining life by pumping blood throughout the entire body to supply nutrients and oxygen. Engineered heart tissues have been introduced to reproduce heart functions to understand the pathophysiological properties of the heart and to test and develop potential therapeutics. Although numerous studies have been conducted in various fields to increase the functionality of heart tissue to be similar to reality, there are still many difficulties in reproducing the blood-pumping function of the heart. In this review, we discuss advancements in cells, biomaterials, and biofabrication in cardiac tissue engineering to achieve cardiac models that closely mimic the pumping function. Moreover, we provide insight into future directions by proposing future perspectives to overcome remaining challenges, such as scaling up and biomimetic patterning of blood vessels and nerves through bioprinting.

Real-Time Wireless Sensing of Cardiomyocyte Contractility by Integrating Magnetic Microbeam and Oriented Nanofibers

In vitro cardiomyocyte mechano-sensing platform is crucial for evaluating the mechanical performance of cardiac tissues and will be an indispensable tool for application in drug discovery and disease mechanism study. Magnetic sensing offers significant advantages in real-time, in situ wireless monitoring and resistance to ion interference. However, due to the mismatch between the stiffness of traditional rigid magnetic material and myocardial tissue, sensitivity is insufficient and it is difficult to achieve cell structure induction and three-dimensional cultivation. Herein, a magnetic sensing platform that integrates a neodymium-iron-boron/polydimethylsiloxane (NdFeB/PDMS) flexible microbeam with suspended and ordered polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber membranes was developed, providing a three-dimensional anisotropic culture environment for cardiomyocyte growth and simultaneously realizing in situ wireless contractility monitoring. The as-prepared sensor presented an ultrahigh sensitivity of 442.2 μV/μm and a deflection resolution of 2 μm. By continuously monitoring the cardiomyocyte growth status and drug stimulation feedback, we verified the capability of the platform to capture dynamic changes in cardiomyocyte contractility. This platform provides a perspective tool for evaluating cardiomyocyte maturity and drug performance.

Bioprinting-Assisted Tissue Assembly for Structural and Functional Modulation of Engineered Heart Tissue Mimicking Left Ventricular Myocardial Fiber Orientation

Left ventricular twist is influenced by the unique oriented structure of myocardial fibers. Replicating this intricate structural-functional relationship in an in vitro heart model remains challenging, mainly due to the difficulties in achieving a complex structure with synchrony between layers. This study introduces a novel approach through the utilization of bioprinting-assisted tissue assembly (BATA)-a synergistic integration of bioprinting and tissue assembly strategies. By flexibly manufacturing tissue modules and assembly platforms, BATA can create structures that traditional methods find difficult to achieve. This approach integrates engineered heart tissue (EHT) modules, each with intrinsic functional and structural characteristics, into a layered, multi-oriented tissue in a controlled manner. EHTs assembled in different orientations exhibit various contractile forces and electrical signal patterns. The BATA is capable of constructing complex myocardial fiber orientations within a chamber-like structure (MoCha). MoCha replicates the native cardiac architecture by exhibiting three layers and three alignment directions, and it reproduces the left ventricular twist by exhibiting synchronized contraction between layers and mimicking the native cardiac architecture. The potential of BATA extends to engineering tissues capable of constructing and functioning as complete organs on a large scale. This advancement holds the promise of realizing future organ-on-demand technology.

Additive Manufacturing Provides Infinite Possibilities for Self-Sensing Technology

Integrating sensors and other functional parts in one device can enable a new generation of integrated intelligent devices that can perform self-sensing and monitoring autonomously. Applications include buildings that detect and repair damage, robots that monitor conditions and perform real-time correction and reconstruction, aircraft capable of real-time perception of the internal and external environment, and medical devices and prosthetics with a realistic sense of touch. Although integrating sensors and other functional parts into self-sensing intelligent devices has become increasingly common, additive manufacturing has only been marginally explored. This review focuses on additive manufacturing integrated design, printing equipment, and printable materials and stuctures. The importance of the material, structure, and function of integrated manufacturing are highlighted. The study summarizes current challenges to be addressed and provides suggestions for future development directions.

3D-Printed Microdevices: From Design to Applications

3D printing represents an emerging technology in several fields, including engineering, medicine, and chemistry [...].

A Biomimetic Cardiac Fibrosis-on-a-Chip as a Visible Disease Model for Evaluating Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosome Therapy

Cardiac fibrosis acts as a serious worldwide health issue due to its prevalence in numerous forms of cardiac disease and its essential link to cardiac failure. Considering the efficiency of stem cell therapy for cardiac fibrosis, great efforts have been dedicated to developing accurate models for investigating their underlying therapeutic mechanisms. Herein we present an elaborate biomimetic cardiac fibrosis-on-a-chip based on Janus structural color film (SCF) to provide microphysiological visuals for stem cell therapeutic studies. By coculturing cardiomyocytes (CMs) and cardiac fibroblasts (FBs) on Janus SCF with fibrosis induction, the chip can recreate physiological intercellular crosstalk within the fibrotic microenvironment, elucidating the physiological alterations of fibrotic hearts. In particular, the Janus structural color film possesses superior perceptual capabilities for capturing and responding to a weak cardiac force, demonstrating synchronized structural color shifts. Based on these features, we have not only explored the dynamic relationship between color mapping and the evaluated disease phenotype but also demonstrated the self-reporting capacity of the cardiac fibrosis-on-a-chip for the assessment of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome therapy. These features suggest that such a chip can potentially facilitate the evolution of precision medicine strategies and create a protocol for preclinical cardiac drug screening.

3D-Printed Biohybrid Microstructures Enable Transplantation and Vascularization of Microtissues in the Anterior Chamber of the Eye

Hybridizing biological cells with man-made sensors enable the detection of a wide range of weak physiological responses with high specificity. The anterior chamber of the eye (ACE) is an ideal transplantation site due to its ocular immune privilege and optical transparency, which enable superior noninvasive longitudinal analyses of cells and microtissues. Engraftment of biohybrid microstructures in the ACE may, however, be affected by the pupillary response and dynamics. Here, sutureless transplantation of biohybrid microstructures, 3D printed in IP-Visio photoresin, containing a precisely localized pancreatic islet to the ACE of mice is presented. The biohybrid microstructures allow mechanical fixation in the ACE, independent of iris dynamics. After transplantation, islets in the microstructures successfully sustain their functionality for over 20 weeks and become vascularized despite physical separation from the vessel source (iris) and immersion in a low-viscous liquid (aqueous humor) with continuous circulation and clearance. This approach opens new perspectives in biohybrid microtissue transplantation in the ACE, advancing monitoring of microtissue-host interactions, disease modeling, treatment outcomes, and vascularization in engineered tissues.

Application of 3D printing technology in tumor diagnosis and treatment

3D printing technology is an increasing approach consisting of material manufacturing through the selective incremental delamination of materials to form a 3D structure to produce products. This technology has different advantages, including low cost, short time, diversification, and high precision. Widely adopted additive manufacturing technologies enable the creation of diagnostic tools and expand treatment options. Coupled with its rapid deployment, 3D printing is endowed with high customizability that enables users to build prototypes in shorts amounts of time which translates into faster adoption in the medical field. This review mainly summarizes the application of 3D printing technology in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, including the challenges and the prospects combined with other technologies applied to the medical field.

Nanomaterials-incorporated hydrogels for 3D bioprinting technology

In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, various hydrogels derived from the extracellular matrix have been utilized for creating engineered tissues and implantable scaffolds. While these hydrogels hold immense promise in the healthcare landscape, conventional bioinks based on ECM hydrogels face several challenges, particularly in terms of lacking the necessary mechanical properties required for 3D bioprinting process. To address these limitations, researchers are actively exploring novel nanomaterial-reinforced ECM hydrogels for both mechanical and functional aspects. In this review, we focused on discussing recent advancements in the fabrication of engineered tissues and monitoring systems using nanobioinks and nanomaterials via 3D bioprinting technology. We highlighted the synergistic benefits of combining numerous nanomaterials into ECM hydrogels and imposing geometrical effects by 3D bioprinting technology. Furthermore, we also elaborated on critical issues remaining at the moment, such as the inhomogeneous dispersion of nanomaterials and consequent technical and practical issues, in the fabrication of complex 3D structures with nanobioinks and nanomaterials. Finally, we elaborated on plausible outlooks for facilitating the use of nanomaterials in biofabrication and advancing the function of engineered tissues.

A snapshot review on materials enabled multimodal bioelectronics for neurological and cardiac research

Seamless integration of the body and electronics toward the understanding, quantification, and control of disease states remains one of the grand scientific challenges of this era. As such, research efforts have been dedicated to developing bioelectronic devices for chemical, mechanical, and electrical sensing, and cellular and tissue functionality modulation. The technologies developed to achieve these capabilities cross a wide range of materials and scale (and dimensionality), e.g., from micrometer to centimeters (from 2-dimensional (2D) to 3-dimensional (3D) assemblies). The integration into multimodal systems which allow greater insight and control into intrinsically multifaceted biological systems requires careful design and selection. This snapshot review will highlight the state-of-the-art in cellular recording and modulation as well as the material considerations for the design and manufacturing of devices integrating their capabilities.

Development and Prospective Applications of 3D Membranes as a Sensor for Monitoring and Inducing Tissue Regeneration

For decades, tissue regeneration has been a challenging issue in scientific modeling and human practices. Although many conventional therapies are already used to treat burns, muscle injuries, bone defects, and hair follicle injuries, there remains an urgent need for better healing effects in skin, bone, and other unique tissues. Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing and real-time monitoring technologies have enabled the creation of tissue-like membranes and the provision of an appropriate microenvironment. Using tissue engineering methods incorporating 3D printing technologies and biomaterials for the extracellular matrix (ECM) containing scaffolds can be used to construct a precisely distributed artificial membrane. Moreover, advances in smart sensors have facilitated the development of tissue regeneration. Various smart sensors may monitor the recovery of the wound process in different aspects, and some may spontaneously give feedback to the wound sites by releasing biological factors. The combination of the detection of smart sensors and individualized membrane design in the healing process shows enormous potential for wound dressings. Here, we provide an overview of the advantages of 3D printing and conventional therapies in tissue engineering. We also shed light on different types of 3D printing technology, biomaterials, and sensors to describe effective methods for use in skin and other tissue regeneration, highlighting their strengths and limitations. Finally, we highlight the value of 3D bioengineered membranes in various fields, including the modeling of disease, organ-on-a-chip, and drug development.