Tissue Engineering (TE) is a multidisciplinary field which applies the principles of engineering and life sciences toward i) the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function or a whole organ, and ii) the production of realistic tissue constructs for in vitro applications. Regarding clinical applications, TE aims at overcoming the limitations of current treatments based on organ transplantation and biomaterial implantation. Potential answers may rely on immunologically tolerant ‘artificial’ organs and tissue substitutes that can grow with the patient. Tissue engineered realistic human surrogates should serve namely for drug screening, chemical toxicity testing, as well as for basic cell biology.

Biological tissues are composed of different cell types, each embedded in their specific extracellular matrix (ECM), with interwoven vasculature. During tissue development and remodeling, most mechanisms of pattern formation are based on spatiotemporal heterogeneity, which induces the formation of a local microenvironment, including gradients of soluble or insoluble factors as well as physical forces. This suggests a dynamic reciprocity of form and function and further underlies the importance of engineering multicellular geometries to reproduce functional histoarchitecture of live tissue and organs and to promote proper tissue remodeling and homeostasis. Developing tools to create and manipulate the micro-environment including, for example the location and shape of biological and physicals gradients, is thus essential. In this aim, technological advances in the fields of automation, miniaturization and computer-aided design and machining have led to the development of Bioprinting.

The project “Tissue Engineering Assisted by Laser (TEAL)” aims:

• i) to develop new biofabrication methods, such as Laser-Assisted Bioprinting technique, allowing to deal with tissue complexity and anisotropy.
• ii) to apply these methods to bone and vascular tissue engineering.

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