Bioprinting of three-dimensional dentin–pulp complex with local differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells

Numerous approaches have been introduced to regenerate artificial dental tissues. However, conventional approaches are limited when producing a construct with three-dimensional patient-specific shapes and compositions of heterogeneous dental tissue. In this research, bioprinting technology was applied to produce a three-dimensional dentin–pulp complex with patient-specific shapes by inducing localized differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells within a single structure. A fibrin-based bio-ink was designed for bioprinting with the human dental pulp stem cells. The effects of fibrinogen concentration within the bio-ink were investigated in terms of printability, human dental pulp stem cell compatibility, and differentiation. The results show that micro-patterns with human dental pulp stem cells could be achieved with more than 88% viability. Its odontogenic differentiation was also regulated according to the fibrinogen concentration. Based on these results, a dentin–pulp complex having patient-specific shape was produced by co-printing the human dental pulp stem cell–laden bio-inks with polycaprolactone, which is a bio-thermoplastic used for producing the overall shape. After culturing with differentiation medium for 15 days, localized differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells in the outer region of the three-dimensional cellular construct was successfully achieved with localized mineralization. This result demonstrates the possibility to produce patient-specific composite tissues for tooth tissue engineering using three-dimensional bioprinting technology.