A super low-cost bioprinter based on DVD-drive components and a raspberry pi as controller

Bioprinting is a growing, multidisciplinary research area with huge potential. Applications range from printing small organ-tissue equivalents for basic research (e.g. investigation of 3D cell growth) to printing whole organs for implantation in the future. Anyhow, there are a lot of challenges to be solved. An increasing number of researchers, involving students and smaller research groups, are picking up this challenging topic, however, a crucial obstacle in the field is the high cost of a bioprinter. In this publication, we present a super low-cost bioprinter based on DVD-drive components. The printer can be built using tools and components easily accessible for engineers and students and with a budget of less than € 190. Further, our simple but effective system is easily modifiable for specific needs. For curing the bio-ink during printing and to be able to fabricate multilayer structures, a nebulizer unit was used as alternative to a more complex coaxial two-nozzle-system.