Benefits of the technique include its rapid process (15 minutes – 1 hour), compared to the often days-long processes of others,[4][5] the capacity for endogenous synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) without the need for an artificial protein substrate and fine spatial control, and the capacity for 3D cell culture models to be printed from simple spheroids and rings into more complex organotypic models such as the lung, aortic valve, and white fat.
The system is a nanoparticle assembly consisting of gold, magnetic iron oxide, and poly-L-lysine which assists in adhesion to the cell membrane via electrostatic interactions.
When used as a toxicity assay, this shrinkage varies with drug concentration and is a label-free metric of cell function that can be captured and measured with brightfield imaging.
[11] The size of the pattern can be captured using an iPod-based system, which is programmed using an app (Experimental Assistant) to image whole plates of up to 96 structures at intervals as short as one second.
[13] Vascular smooth muscle cells are magnetically printed into 3D rings to mimic blood vessels that can contract and dilate.