Microfluidic bioprinting of heterogeneous 3D tissue constructs
3D bioprinting is an emerging field that can be described as a robotic additive biofabrication technology that has the potential to build tissues or organs. In general, bioprinting uses a computer controlled printing device to accurately deposit cells and biomaterials into precise architectures with the goal of creating on demand organized multicellular tissue structures and eventually intra-organ vascular networks. The latter, in turn, will promote the host-integration of the engineered tissue/organ in situ once implanted. Existing biofabrication techniques still lay behind this goal.