The NC3Rs is a UK-based scientific organisation that works nationally and internationally with the research community to replace, refine and reduce the use of animals in research and testing.  Newcastle University is leading this NC3Rs funded project with Cambridge and Bristol Universities.  Jetbio was spun out of Newcastle University to commercialise its patented 3D bioprinting technology and biomaterials.

Overview
The award from NC3Rs will be used by Prof Kenny Dalgarno to deliver 3D bioprinting equipment for use at three establishments – the Universities of Cambridge, Newcastle and Bristol with the technology being used to allow novel applications for in vitro models of tissue development and disease that increase their utility to replace animal use. The funding also supports the delivery of demonstration workshops to a wider community of researchers, including within the GW4 alliance.

This award was made as part of the 2024 non-animal methods infrastructure grants supported with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Application abstract
Bioprinting technologies provide for an automated way of making cell cultures and co-cultures which can be applied to the production of in vitro models of tissues and diseases. In vitro models of this type offer alternatives to animal testing in the development of new drugs and therapies, and are expected to play a key role in reducing and replacing animal testing. This project focusses on a new type of bioprinting (reactive jet impingement, or ReJI) developed at Newcastle University which has advantages over existing techniques in terms of the quality of the in vitro models which can be produced, and flexibility it offers life scientists in the development of new in vitro models. Currently the technique is only available at Newcastle, and this project will also make the technology available to life science researchers at Bristol and Cambridge Universities, and researchers at each of the three Universities will collaborate to validate and demonstrate the technology to the UK scientific community.

The aim of the project is to accelerate the adoption of novel 3D bioprinting techniques in the development and scale-up of in vitro models of diseases for drug development. The project will build on the development of the ReJI bioprinting process and will add complementary techniques of micro-valve and ink-jet bioprinting to create a unique bioprinter with capabilities which go beyond those of any commercially available bioprinter.

The NC3Rs Novel Bioprinters for 3D In vitro Models (3D-IV) project has developed three new bioprinters. The bioprinters combine a new approach to bioprinting developed at Newcastle University, reactive jet impingement (ReJI), with inkjet and microvalve bioprinting modes to create a unique bioprinter which offers new capabilities in terms of the creation of in vitro models. ReJI bioprinting can create gel cultures with high cell densities and can print on a wide variety of substrates. Inkjet printing gives the capability to print cells in solution at almost single cell resolution, whilst microvalve bioprinting can also print cells in solution but to deposit high volumes. Together the three techniques give a wide range of capabilities for creating 3D in vitro models using technologies which can support scale up when higher throughput is required.

Workshop Events – for more details go to the web links;

And NC3Rs have included the info on their events page (https://nc3rs.org.uk/events)

Mini Reji

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