Many drugs and chemical compounds show promising results in laboratory research, but eventually fail clinical trials. We hypothesize that one main reason for this translational gap is that current cancer models are inadequate. Most models lack the tumor-matrix interactions, which are essential for proper representation of cancer complexity. We recapitulated the tumor heterogenic microenvironment by creating a 3D-bioprinted glioblastoma (GB) model. We created a library of synthetic, natural and chemically modified polymers which were used as bioinks. For example, fibrin bioink consisting of patient-derived GB cells, astrocytes and microglia. Additionally, perfusable blood vessels were created using a Pluronic F127 polymer coated with pericytes and endothelial cells.

We studied the interactions between each chemical component on the crosslinking kinetics, the mechanical strength of the printed structure and many other properties to match the brain tissue characteristics. Moreover, we observed similar growth curves, drug response and genetic signature of GB cells grown in our 3D-bioink platform and in orthotopic mouse models of cancer as opposed to 2D culture on rigid plastic plates. Our 3D-bioprinted model could be the basis for potentially replacing cell cultures and animal models as a powerful platform for rapid, reproducible and robust target discovery tool, personalized therapy screening and drug development.