3D bioprinting of a perfusable skin-on-chip model suitable for drug testing and wound healing studies

Abstract

ABSTRACT The skin, as the body’s largest organ, serves critical functions including physical protection, thermoregulation, sensation, and immunity, making it a key focus in tissue engineering. Recently, 3D bioprinting has emerged as a promising method for fabricating skin substitutes, offering potential applications in both drug testing and clinical treatments for severe skin injuries. This technology enables the precise deposition of cells within a biomaterial matrix to create complex tissue structures with controlled microenvironments. A major challenge in 3D bioprinted skin models is incorporating a vascular system for adequate nutrient and oxygen distribution. Here, we present a novel approach for creating a perfusable 3D vascularized skin model using two bioinks: gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) for the dermal and epidermal layers and Pluronic F127 as a sacrificial material for vascular channel formation. This method integrates three cell types, neonatal foreskin fibroblasts, human epidermal keratinocytes, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells, to establish a biomimetic skin construct. By employing sacrificial bioprinting techniques, we successfully developed a skin model with vascularized structures that can be used for advanced in-vitro studies and regenerative therapies.