Date of Award
2019
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Awarded
Master of Science (MS)
Program
Mechanical Engineering
Department
Mechanical Engineering
College
Engineering
Faculty Advisor
Bajwa, Dilpreet
Description
Currently, many drugs are preclinically tested on two-dimensional cell cultures. However, this method does not adequately replicate the cellular interactions or diffusion gradient that occur in three-dimensional tissues, leading to poor indicators of how a drug may affect human tissues. The objective of this project was to use bioprinted pancreatic cancer cell cultures as a platform for three-dimensional drug testing. Various bioink formulations of cellulose, gelatin, and alginate were evaluated to determine which provided the best printability and cell viability. A cellulose nanocrystal and alginate hydrogel showed superior printability due to its shear thinning properties. Additionally, initial cell viability was nearly 80%, and it remained above 60% over four days. Use of a custom spinning bioreactor at 50 rpm resulted in no improvements to cell viability. Overall, the system shows potential as a drug testing platform to evaluate the effectiveness of various drug formulations on three-dimensional pancreatic cancer cell cultures.
Recommended Citation
Rehovsky, Chad Austin, "Bioprinting of Pancreatic Cancer Cells for Improved Drug Testing" (2019). Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. 32.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/mech-eng-applied-mechanics/32
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/31696