­CAPILLARY-BASED LIQUID-IN-AIR BIOPRINTER

­CAPILLARY-BASED LIQUID-IN-AIR BIOPRINTER

Researchers at UCSF have developed an apparatus and methods for dispensing droplets, which can be used to spatially control the placement of cells in many applications including tissue engineering, organoids, stem cell research, and high-throughput screening.

Stage of Research

The inventors have developed an apparatus for dispensing droplets that contains a dispenser, a liquid source, and a pressure source. The dispenser includes a tube with an outlet, a channel surrounding the tube, and a flow path coupling the channel and the outlet of the tube. The liquid source is coupled to the tube and the pressure source coupled to the channel. The liquid flows through the tube, the pressure source flows gas through the channel, and a droplet of the liquid is thus dispensed from the outlet of the tube.

Applications

• Tissue engineering
• Organoids
• Stem cell research
• High-throughput screening

Advantages

• A fine-tunable device with precision-controlled dispensing of droplets for a wide variety of applications
• Flexibile implementation whereby:
  • The apparatus tube can include a capillary, an optical fiber, or a microfluidic chamber
  • The apparatus can include a membrane valve to at least partially define the flow path with an outlet actuatable to a first position and a second position
  • Variable widths possible for the apparatus flow path(s)

Stage of Development

Research – in vitro

Publications

N/A

Related Web Links

N/A

Keywords

Droplet, apparatus

Technology Reference

Biohub ref. no. CZB-256F

UCSF ref. no. SF2022-137