Self-assembling tetrameric peptides allow 3D bioprinting under physiological conditions

We have developed an in situ bioprinting method that allows the printing of cells under true physiological conditions by applying self-assembling ultrashort peptides as bioinks. This method avoids cell stressing methods, such as UV-treatment, chemical crosslinking and viscous bioink printing methods. We further demonstrate that different nanomaterials can easily be synthesized or incorporated in the 3D bioprinted peptide scaffolds which opens up the possibility of functionalized 3D scaffolds. Tetrameric peptide-based bioinks allow the printing of 3D cell-laden scaffolds under true physiological conditions avoiding harsh UV or chemical treatment.