The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 2025
Filed:
Jun. 17, 2021
University of Virginia Patent Foundation, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Liheng Cai, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Jinchang Zhu, Charlottesville, VA (US);
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for 3D bioprinting of hydrogel voxels enable microfluidics-assisted digital assembly of spherical particles (DASP). The systems include a 3D motion system, a microfluidic printhead coupled to the 3D motion system, an extrusion device fluidly coupled to the microfluidic printhead, and a sacrificial support matrix. The sacrificial support matrix is designed to support the hydrogel voxels during printing and cross-link the hydrogel voxels. The system includes bio-inks comprising hydrogel compositions having independently controllable viscoelasticity and mesh size. The bio-inks are extruded by the extrusion device and microfluidic printhead to produce the hydrogel voxels. Exploiting the microfluidic printhead enables printing individual spherical hydrogel voxels with diameters from 150 micrometers (μm) to 1200 μm. Positioning and interconnection of the hydrogel voxels can be precisely controlled. The systems and methods produce free-standing 3D structures and can be used for producing functional tissue mimics.