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A desktop multi-material 3D bio-printing system with open-source hardware and software

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Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is considered to be a major driving innovation in tissue engineering, since a custom-made manufacturing for patients is essential for tissue and organ generation. Depending on the bio-materials and the applications, various 3D bio-printing technologies are used. A system capable of printing a variety of bio-materials through various methods is required for fabrication of hybrid scaffolds for tissue engineering research. This paper describes the design and integration of a multi-channel 3D bio-printing system at an affordable price based on open source hardware and software. The hardware and software components of the 3D bio-printing system and the process of finding optimal printing conditions are described in the paper. Fabrication of the hybrid scaffold of synthetic polymer and cell loaded hydrogel are presented to validate the performance of the system.

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Correspondence to Chibum Lee.

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Lee, J., Kim, K.E., Bang, S. et al. A desktop multi-material 3D bio-printing system with open-source hardware and software. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 18, 605–612 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-017-0072-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-017-0072-x

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