Schematic showing the use of bioprinting to manufacture an NVU model that represents a brain blood vessel
Individual NVU cells are combined with a bioprintable pre-hydrogel solution to create a bioink that will replicate the microenvironment of the brain parenchyma. The bioinks are then placed into different printing cartridges and deposited using a computer-aided design template into a support bath that maintains the structural composition of the design. The support bath is filled with a specially formulated polysaccharide hydrogel that has liquid properties under shear force, allowing the bioink to be deposited in precise spatial locations. The pre-hydrogel solution is then cross-linked, and either removed from the support bath or kept in the support bath and placed within a 37°C incubator for tissue development and experimentation. See text for further details.