Recently, the research paper Acoustic Bioprinting: Liquid-Bridge-Based Efficient Single-Cell Encapsulation Using Gigahertz Bulk Acoustic Waves, co-authored by Dr. Zhou Yangchao from the School of Intelligent Manufacturing (Aeronautical Engineering) and Professor Duan Xuexin from Tianjin University, has been published in the internationally renowned journal Analytical Chemistry. As a CAS Tie 1 Top journal in both the major and minor categories, Analytical Chemistry is included in the Nature Index journal list and enjoys high international influence in the field of analytical chemistry. Dr. Zhou is the first author, and Professor Duan serves as the corresponding author. Taizhou University is the first affiliation.

Single cell encapsulation techniques are essential for biological analysis, regenerative therapy, and drug screening. However, current methods still suffer from issues such as insufficient spatial resolution, complex operation, and poor biocompatibility. Furthermore, the low encapsulation efficiency has resulted in significant waste of biological samples. This study proposes an acoustic-based bioprinting method to address these challenges in single cell encapsulation. Unlike most bioprinting approaches, the proposed method transfers cells via a liquid bridge, providing an error correction channel for cell encapsulation.

The schematic diagram of the cell encapsulation platform

Combined with an optical feedback system, almost 100% single cell encapsulation efficiency can be achieved. The paper also demonstrates the combined encapsulation of single cells and particles. This liquid-bridge-based bioprinting technology exhibits high encapsulation efficiency, versatility toward different micro-objects, and good biocompatibility for handling viable samples, allowing its potential application in cell assembly, chemical analysis, and bio-fabrication.

Link to the original paper：

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.6c00800