Liquid-Phase Laser Induced Forward Transfer for Complex Organic Inks and Tissue Engineering

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• 作者：Alexander K. Nguyen ; Roger J. Narayan
• 关键词：Laser induced forward transfer ; Cell printing ; Regenerative medicine ; Tissue engineering
• 刊名：Annals of Biomedical Engineering
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：45
• 期：1
• 页码：84-99
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
• 刊物主题：Biomedicine, general; Biomedical Engineering; Biological and Medical Physics, Biophysics; Classical Mechanics; Biochemistry, general;
• 出版者：Springer US
• ISSN：1573-9686
• 卷排序：45

文摘

Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) acts as a novel alternative to incumbent plotting techniques such as inkjet printing due to its ability to precisely deposit and position picoliter-sized droplets while being gentle enough to preserve sensitive structures within the ink. Materials as simple as screen printing ink to complex eukaryotic cells have been printed with applications spanning from microelectronics to tissue engineering. Biotechnology can benefit from this technique due to the efficient use of low volumes of reagent and the compatibility with a wide range of rheological properties. In addition, LIFT can be performed in a simple lab environment, not requiring vacuum or other extreme conditions. Although the basic apparatus is simple, many strategies exist to optimize the performance considering the ink and the desired pattern. The basic mechanism is similar between studies so the large number of variants can be summarized into a couple of categories and reported on with respect to their specific applications. In particular, precise and gentle deposition of complex molecules and eukaryotic cells represent the unique abilities of this technology. LIFT has demonstrated not only marked improvements in the quality of sensors and related medical devices over those manufactured with incumbent technologies but also great applicability in tissue engineering due to the high viability of printed cells.