Abstract: biotINK - rethINK tissue printing

We are living in an aging society that is facing a decreasing supply of donor organs. To confront this pressing issue, w e developed a game-changing approach to bioprint tissues for biomedical applications. Our interdisciplinary w ork aims to create a unique ink, named biotINK, to revolutionize bioprinting. The printing process uses a hijacked 3D printer and two components of biotINK to induce an instantaneous polymerization reaction, creating three-dimensional multi-cellular structures in a user-definable manner. The principle of this tw o-component glue relies on the rapid and specific interaction of biotin and its tetrameric binding protein, avidin. To employ the high biotin-avidin affinity, w e engineered cells presenting biotin moieties or biotin-binding proteins on their surfaces, as w ell as recombinant matrix proteins, which both co-polymerize upon printing. Furthermore, w e explored different genetic circuits which allow us to functionalize the bio-synthetic tissue and install biosafety mechanisms. Altogether, w e are confident that our system provides the necessary means to advance the SynBio community to the next level – the tissue level.