CELLINK Launches New Bioinks

CELLINK has launched the next part of a multiphase bioink expansion. This phase includes the release of two new bioink series, the expansion of three existing bioink series, the release of a new thickener series and two products for enhanced cell analysis.

New bioink series

Chitosan:

Chitosan is an abundant biocompatible material which has been used in research related to cartilage, skin and bone tissue engineering. Previously, chitosan’s use was limited to 2D cell culturing due to its lack of structural integrity. CELLINK has introduced ChitoInk – the first-ever commercialized chitosan-based bioink for bioprinting. Containing an inert effective thickener and a stabilizer, ChitoInk provides good printability at physiological pH, shape fidelity, control over mechanical properties and biocompatibility.

Silk:

Silk fibroin is known for its high tensile strength and elastic modulus which make it particularly well-suited to mimic the native extracellular environment in load-bearing tissues like bone and cartilage. Until now, aqueous silk fibroin solutions could not embed cells to enable creation of living tissue models. SilkInk, a biocompatible and biodegradable bioink, has been formulated to enable smooth bioprinting and support of cell attachment and proliferation. With this bioink, users can simply alter environmental conditions to control the self-assembly process.

GelXA series expansion:

The GelXA series is designed to retain prolific cytocompatibility of gelatin while enabling bioprinting at ambient conditions and providing the mechanical versatility of crosslinking. With the mechanical versatility of crosslinking, users can adjust the stiffness of the cellular microenvironment to resemble harder tissues like cartilage. CELLINK has expanded the GelXA series with cartilage-specific components to regulate the biological microenvironment native for cartilage tissue.

Collagen series expansion:

Type I collagen is one of the main structural proteins found in extracellular matrix (ECM) and connective tissue. Collagen promotes cell adhesion, growth, biological signaling and tissue morphogenesis, making it one of the most popular biomaterials in research. CELLINK has aimed to leverage collagen’s native physiological properties in a new formulation that produces reproducible results and is convenient to use. It is also designed to have an extremely long shelf-life and gel smoothly at 37 degrees Celsius.

Expansion of GelMA Series:

GelMA hydrogels are used widely in the biomedical field, owing to their unique biological properties that enable excellent attachment and proliferation of various cell types. CELLINK’s mission is to expand these capabilities by enhancing GelMA with tissue-specific functionality. With the addition of fibrinogen, a glycoprotein that converts enzymatically to fibrin, we aim to mediate the spreading of endothelial cells and fibroblast proliferation to mimic the physiological tissue vascularization process in bioprinted GelMA constructs.

New thickener Series:

We understand that some researchers favor flexibility in their experiments and prefer to tune biomaterial properties to meet application-specific needs. In this effort, CELLINK has developed a new thickener series to help users regulate a biomaterial’s viscosity and colloidal stability while retaining essential biological properties. This series includes natural, pure and sterile polysaccharides that are all approved for use in food additives or cosmetics components.

New products to enhance cell analysis:

CELLECT™ A and CELLECT™ C/G

1. CELLECT™ A is designed for lysis of alginate, cellulose and gelatin.
2. CELLECT™ C/G is a substrate coating material (PrintGlue) to increase attachment of printed constructs.

The products will be launched in separate phases from November 2019 to January 2020.