Open Access

ARTICLE

Optimization and comparison of two different 3D culture methods to prepare cell aggregates as a bioink for organ printing

RANA IMANI¹, SHAHRIAR HOJJATI EMAMI¹, HOSSEIN FAKHRZADEH², NAFISEH BAHEIRAEI¹, ALI M SHARIFI^{* 2,3,4}

1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
2. Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
3. Razi Institute for Drug research, Department of Pharmacology , School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
4. Department of Tissue Engineering and Cell therapy, School of advanced sciences in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Tehran, Iran.

* Address correspondence to: Ali Mohammad SHARIFI. E-mail: ;

BIOCELL 2012, 36(1), 37-45. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2012.36.037

Abstract

The ultimate goal of tissue engineering is to design and fabricate functional human tissues that are similar to natural cells and are capable of regeneration. Preparation of cell aggregates is one of the important steps in 3D tissue engineering technology, particularly in organ printing. Two simple methods, hanging drop (HD) and conical tube (CT) were utilized to prepare cell aggregates. The size and viability of the aggregates obtained at different initial cell densities and pre-culture duration were compared. The proliferative ability of the cell aggregates and their ability to spread in culture plates were also investigated. In both methods, the optimum average size of the aggregates was less than 500 μm. CT aggregates were smaller than HD aggregates. 5,000 cells per drop HD aggregates showed a marked ability to attach and spread on the culture surface. The proliferative ability reduced when the initial cell density was increased. Comparing these methods, we found that the HD method having better size controlling ability as well as enhanced ability to maintain higher rates of viability, spreading, and proliferation. In conclusion, smaller HD aggregates might be a suitable choice as building blocks for making bioink particles in bioprinting technique.

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