Technologies for high-throughput biofabrication of human-relevant in vitro models

Advances in biofabrication and 3D in vitro model systems are transforming biomedical research, drug development, and toxicity testing. However, despite rapid progress in organoids, spheroids, organ-on-chip systems, and bioprinting, their translation into robust and widely deployable platforms remains constrained by challenges in scalability, reproducibility, and automation. A new generation of high-throughput technologies, including micro- and millifluidic encapsulation, automated cell processing, advanced bioprinting, robotic assembly, AI-driven process control, and sensor-integrated culture systems, is emerging to address these bottlenecks. These developments enable parallelized, standardized, and tunable generation of human-relevant microtissues that more closely recapitulate the in vivo microenvironment. This progress is essential for applications from drug screening and disease modeling to personalized medicine and the replacement of animal-based testing. Yet high-throughput and automated biofabrication approaches remain fragmented across engineering, biotechnology, and computational communities. This Research Topic aims to serve as an integrative forum to advance their development, standardization, and broad adoption.The aim of this Research Topic is to consolidate technological innovations that enable scalable, automated, and reproducible biofabrication of human-relevant in vitro tissue models. By addressing the entire production chain from cell sourcing and expansion to encapsulation, assembly, maturation, and functional analysis, the initiative highlights advances that overcome current limitations in throughput, standardization, and biological fidelity.A key goal is to promote interdisciplinary exchange across microfluidics, millifluidics, biomaterials science, robotics, bioprocess engineering, and computational methods. Particular emphasis is placed on microfluidic and millifluidic encapsulation technologies, the creation of modular building blocks, and automated strategies for bioassembly and bioprinting. These approaches support the fabrication of complex tissues that more accurately reproduce physiological organization and function.Further objectives include strengthening technologies for quality control, real time monitoring, and predictive modeling of tissue development. By bringing these developments together, the Research Topic seeks to accelerate the adoption of next generation biofabrication workflows that improve reproducibility, scalability, and translational value while contributing to the broader transition toward human specific and animal free biomedical research.This collection welcomes contributions that advance technologies for high throughput, automated, and reproducible biofabrication of human relevant in vitro models. Submissions may address innovations across the complete fabrication workflow, including cell sourcing and expansion, microfluidic and millifluidic encapsulation, generation of modular building blocks such as spheroids, organoids, and OBBs, as well as strategies for automated bioassembly and bioprinting. Work on post fabrication conditioning, organ-on-chip platforms, real-time monitoring, quality control, and data driven or computational approaches that enhance process reliability is also encouraged.We invite original research articles, methods papers, reviews, perspectives, and technology reports that present novel tools, engineering concepts, or integrative workflows. Contributions should clearly describe how the proposed technology improves throughput, standardization, automation, or physiological relevance in the creation of in vitro tissue models. Interdisciplinary and application-oriented studies, including those related to drug discovery, disease modeling, or human specific alternatives to animal testing, are particularly welcome. This Research Topic focuses on technology development and validation in vitro. Clinical studies, clinical trials, and studies centred on patient outcomes are out of scope. Topic editors: Dominik Egger, Ioannis Papantoniou, DIMITRIOS KOUROUPIS Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77078/technologies-for-high-throughput-biofabrication-of-human-relevant-in-vitro-models