Understanding droplet jetting on varying substrate for biological applications

Jia Min Lee; Xi Huang; Guo Liang Goh; Tuan Tran; Wai Yee Yeong

doi:10.18063/ijb.758

Understanding droplet jetting on varying substrate for biological applications

Int J Bioprint. 2023 May 23;9(5):758. doi: 10.18063/ijb.758. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jia Min Lee¹, Xi Huang¹, Guo Liang Goh², Tuan Tran^{1

2}, Wai Yee Yeong^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Corp Lab, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
² Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Abstract

In the inkjet printing process, the droplet experience two phases, namely the jetting and the impacting phases. In this review article, we aim to understand the physics of a jetted ink, which begins during the droplet formation process. Following which, we highlight the different impacts during which the droplet lands on varying substrates such as solid, liquid, and less commonly known viscoelastic material. Next, the article states important process-specific considerations in determining the success of inkjet bioprinted constructs. Techniques to reduce cell deformation throughout the inkjet printing process are highlighted. Modifying postimpact events, such as spreading, evaporation, and absorption, improves cell viability of printed droplet. Last, applications that leverage on the advantage of pixelation in inkjet printing technology have been shown for drug screening and cell-material interaction studies. It is noteworthy that inkjet bioprinting technology has been integrated with other processing technologies to improve the structural integrity and biofunctionality of bioprinted construct.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing; Bioprinting; Functional material; Hydrogel; Inkjet printing; Material jetting.

Publication types

Review