Inkure®3D is a GMP-ready bioink based on a cold-adapted biomaterial (salmon GelMA) with prime mechanical and rheological properties for high-resolution 3D bioprinting.
Bioink for Tissue Bioprinting
3,300
Million USD, Global 3D Bioprinting Market by 2027
20.8
CAGR for the 2022-2027 period
“Inkure®3D is opening the gate to the use of biomaterials in highly advanced industrial 3D printers, which offers researchers and companies across the world the opportunity to create multi-material tissues and organs with unprecedented complexity.”
Juan Pablo Acevedo, Ph.D.
Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication R&D Division
Breaking technical and immunological barriers for multi-material high-resolution 3D bioprinting. The need for tissue replacement has prompted researchers worldwide to focus on developing new biofabrication technologies that can create functional tissues and organs. 3D bioprinting, defined as the process of layer-by-layer deposition of biomaterials in combination with cells into a defined 3D shape, has emerged as an ideal technology for this endeavor. But this approach has important challenges that derive from the fundamental requirement of high-resolution printing due to the complexity of human tissues and organs. Fortunately, highly sophisticated multi-material structures can theoretically be printed using advanced bioprinters such as extrusion-based, inkjet-based, or stereolithography. However, the lack of bioink material bioinks with adequate rheological, mechanical, and reactive properties has been a limiting aspect of translational 3D bioprinting. Recognizing this demand, Cells for Cells developed Inkure®3D, a groundbreaking low-viscous and immuno-evasive bioink engineered to achieve the best resolution and cell support balance. The patented bioink attains unprecedented high-resolution printability, high viability (~90%), and proliferation of co-printed cells while demonstrating in vivo immune tolerance of printed structures.
The importance of low viscosity and gelation point for high-resolution 3D bioprinting. Bioink selection is a decisive step in biofabrication, as bioinks are the building materials of tissues and organs intended to replace failing human ones. In this regard, two critical features of bioinks are their low viscous behavior and gelation, which prevent nozzles from clogging at room temperature and contribute to standardizing droplets’ size and frequency. The most widely used bioinks, i.e., gelatins derived from bovine and porcine sources, possess high viscosity and tend to solidify at room temperature, making them a suboptimal option for the 3D bioprinting industry. Contrarily, marine species that thrive in cold temperatures have more flexible polymer structures, and consequently, bioink formulations with lower viscosity can be prepared. For instance, salmon GelMA bioinks do not undergo spontaneous gelation under a broad range of temperatures (9 – 40ºC) and have shown a 4-fold lower viscosity than bovine gelatin. Inkure®3D harnesses these unique features from cold-adapted species that enable high-resolution bioprinting through advanced biofabrication approaches, including extrusion-based, inkjet-based, and stereolithography.
A GMP-grade bioink with unparalleled mechanical strength. Good manufacturing practices (GMP) describe the minimum standards a biotech manufacturer must meet in their production processes. For bioprinted tissues and organs to reach the clinic, bioinks must comply with GMP standards. Due to the novel source of Inkure®3D, Cells for Cells decided to test the suitability of this product for GMP production. Notably, Inkure®3D obtained ultra-low impurity (including endotoxins and chemical traces) after an independent assessment by a European industry leader. This milestone means that biomedical companies requiring a GMP-grade hydrogel for clinical use and in-body medical applications can now opt for Inkure®3D and benefit from its superior attributes. These include the ability to produce highly-concentrated formulations of up to 45% w/v, which exhibit outstanding mechanical properties, and Young’s Modulus of more than 1 MPa.
