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A. Ovsianikov:
"3D Printing and bioprinting with high spatial resolution, challenges and perspectives";
Keynote Lecture: 29th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Biomaterials, Maastricht (invited); 09-09-2018 - 09-13-2018; in: "EB 2018 Abstract Proceedings", (2018).

Additive manufacturing technologies, also referred to as 3D printing, are experiencing rapid development by
providing disruptive solutions across different industrial sectors. They also play an increasingly important role in
biomedical and tissue engineering applications. Bioprinting aims at additive manufacturing from materials
containing living cells. These materials, often referred to as bioinks, are based on cytocompatible hydrogel
precursor formulations, which gel in a manner compatible with different 3D bioprinting approaches [1]. Among the
most widespread bioprinting technologies are methods based on extrusion and ink-jet material deposition. The
achievable spatial resolution is therefore in the range of tens of micrometers, limited by intrinsic properties of
these methods. In the context of biomedical and tissue engineering applications of 3D Printing and Bioprinting,
multiphoton lithography (MPL) is an outstanding approach as it can produce features smaller than a single
mammalian cell (down to around 100 nm). For example, it has recently enabled realization of highly porous
microscaffolds capable of hosting individual cell spheroids [2]. MPL is also fundamentally different in that it does
not rely on material deposition, instead the materials is locally modified using photochemistry induced by
multiphoton absorption of ultra-short laser pulses [3]. Depending on the material MPL can produce high-resolution
volumetric structures, induce photodegradation or spatially resolved covalent binding of specific molecules in the
volume of the sample [4]. 3D printing of cell-containing hydrogel structures with high spatial resolution opens
exciting perspectives for the engineering of 3D biomimetic cell culture matrices. Development of cell compatible
and photopolymerizable hydrogels is an important step towards the latter goal. Current challenges include
possible cell damage, resulting from generation of free radicals, and necessity for faster processing [5]. In this
contribution, our recent progress on MPL development will be presented. Current state of the art, challenges and
future perspectives will be discussed.

https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/publik_278189.pdf