Researcher from Tampere University customizes 3D bioprinting materials for biomedical purposes

Hatai Jongprasitkul, a researcher from the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group at Tampere University, has successfully defended his doctoral thesis on customising 3D bioprinting materials for biomedical purposes on the 20^th of October, 2023.

Jongprasitkul completed his BSc in Biomedical Engineering in Thailand before exploring study opportunities worldwide. Eventually, he chose Tampere University because of its renowned educational system, supportive research environment, and excellent facilities. With his background in tissue engineering, biomaterials, and biophysics, he pursued a Master’s program and later a Doctoral degree in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering.

During his Master’s degree, Jongprasitkul focused on creating implant biomaterials for patients with eye disease. However, after listening to a lecture on 3D printing for skin regeneration by Prof. Gordon Wallace from the University of Wollongong, Australia, he decided to explore the field of biomaterials for medical 3D printing.

Jongprasitkul’s research focused on developing novel hydrogel materials for 3D printing of living cells. He collaborated with Dr Vijay Singh Parihar and Dr Sanna Turunen, who are experts in polymer chemistry and biomaterial fabrication. Prof. Minna Kellomäki co-supervised Jongprasitkul’s PhD together with Dr Parihar and Dr Turunen. In total, they published five scientific papers and are currently working on two more.

The materials in which cells are 3D printed for medical purposes require a very high water content. Hydrogels, which are naturally high in water, are therefore used as the printing “ink”. These so-called bioinks require extensive work in tuning the chemistry so that the cells stay alive during the printing process and that the end product, a skin graft, for instance, stays in the required shape.

“You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle… Be water, my friend,” Jongprasitkul quotes Bruce Lee.

Jongprasitkul’s PhD work produced in-depth knowledge of the flow behavior of bioinks so that they would be suitable for injecting, molding or 3D printing. Furthermore, various printability assessment methods were gathered to ensure that these newly developed inks would meet the minimum requirements for the extrusion printing method (Figure 1).