Design and Manufacture of 3D Bioprinting Optimisation Tools Using Additive Manufacturing Technologies

3D bioprinting is an additive manufacturing technology in which successive layers of biomaterials, mostly hydrogels, are deposited to allow the incorporation of living cells. This technology must guarantee, on the one hand, maximum cell survival and subsequent viability, and, on the other hand, correct printability of the hydrogels in order to maintain the integrity of the bioprinted structures. If we focus on the second factor, good printability allows us to reliably reproduce complex biomimetic structures. Therefore, it is necessary to study this parameter for each hydrogel, with the aim of discovering its capabilities in 3D bioprinting and determining its possible uses within this branch. In this work, different tools have been designed, manufactured and tested to determine the fundamental properties of hydrogels before bioprinting 3D biomimetic structures, for use in conjunction with 3D bioprinters. By using these tools together with the bioprinters, important characteristics of the hydrogels can be determined, such as their printability value (Pr), their degree of deflection (collapse study) and the determination of the boundary conditions to be applied. All these variables will be helpful in normalising and standardising basic parameters of 3D bioprinting in a cost-effective way and optimising the amount of hydrogel used.