From Rheometer to 3D Bioprinter: Measuring What Bioinks Really Experience During Printing

Printable bioinks are among the most demanding soft materials in the lab. They shear-thin, they yield, they recover, and many of them gel while being processed. Rotational and capillary rheometry describe this behavior precisely, yet the sample in the measuring geometry is rarely in the same state as the material leaving the nozzle. Formulation, rheological characterization, printability assessment and cell viability testing are typically performed on separate instruments and separate aliquots. Reported viability is therefore linked to instrument settings rather than to the mechanical load the cells actually experienced, which makes results difficult to compare between laboratories.

In this webinar, Ruben Gerrit Scheuring and Stefan Schrüfer will follow a single measurement chain from the rheometer to the cell. They will start from what rotational and capillary rheometry reveal about bioink behavior, quantify the shear conditions a material encounters inside a fine nozzle, and then introduce Byte 1, an extrusion bioprinting platform with integrated in-line process characterization. Four independently supplied cartridges, an interchangeable mixing geometry and two separate temperature control circuits enable programmable compositions and controlled in-printhead gelation, while integrated pressure sensing and dual-view imaging monitor flow and printability.

Case data will illustrate how more than 100 formulations were generated from only four stock solutions, and how instabilities such as clogging and progressive gelation are detected automatically. Because in-line pressure, nozzle geometry and rheological behavior are known for every run, wall shear StressStress is defined as a level of force applied on a sample with a well-defined cross section. (Stress = force/area). Samples having a circular or rectangular cross section can be compressed or stretched. Elastic materials like rubber can be stretched up to 5 to 10 times their original length.stress and shear history become measured quantities rather than estimates. This allows cell viability to be assessed against the mechanical load actually applied, and reveals effects that remain invisible offline, such as shear StressStress is defined as a level of force applied on a sample with a well-defined cross section. (Stress = force/area). Samples having a circular or rectangular cross section can be compressed or stretched. Elastic materials like rubber can be stretched up to 5 to 10 times their original length.stress rising during a print as the ink gels.

Join us to see how rheological characterization, printing and biological outcome can be connected into one measurable process instead of three separate experiments.

Our special guests:
Ruben Gerrit Scheuring and Stefan Schrüfer
RevoBITs GmbH