AccScience Publishing / IJB / Volume 0 / Issue 0 / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025430434
RESEARCH ARTICLE

A pilot evaluation of a 3D bioprinted tumor model for assessment of electroporation-based therapies

Franca Scocozza1 Silvia Pisani2,3* Aleksandra Evangelista3 Ferdinando Auricchio1 Michele Conti1,5 Bice Conti2,3 Marco Benazzo3,4
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1 Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
2 Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
3 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, IRCCS Polyclinic San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy
4 Integrated Unit of Experimental Surgery, Advanced Microsurgery, and Regenerative Medicine
5 Computer Simulation Laboratory, IRCCS Polyclinic San Donato, Milan, Italy
Received: 21 October 2025 | Accepted: 3 December 2025 | Published online: 16 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Strategies in 3D Bioprinting for Disease Modelling)
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are aggressive malignancies with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Electrochemotherapy (ECT), combining short electric pulses with chemotherapeutic agents to enhance intracellular drug uptake, has shown clinical potential but still requires physiologically relevant in vitro models for protocol optimization and mechanistic studies. Here, we introduce a three-dimensional 3D bioprinted in vitro HNSCC model specifically designed for the assessment of electroporation. Structures were fabricated using a composite hydrogel composed of 8% sodium alginate and 4% gelatin (w/w), crosslinked with calcium chloride at concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 2%. Uniaxial compression testing confirmed elastic moduli spanning the physiological tumor stiffness range, with the 1% calcium chloride formulation providing optimal mechanical and handling characteristics (42.96 ± 19.89 kPa). Hypopharyngeal carcinoma FaDu cells (5×106/mL) embedded in three-layer structures (thickness: 1.05 mm) maintained 75–80% viability for up to 21 days and formed tumor-like spheroids (mean diameter: 303 ± 113 μm), reflecting native tumor architecture. Electroporation with eight pulses at 200 V for 100 μs efficiently permeabilized the cell membrane, as evidenced by the internalization of propidium iodide, while maintaining high cell viability as confirmed by live/dead analysis. Programmed death-ligand 1 expression was preserved and upregulated in 3D spheroids compared to two-dimensional (2D) controls, supporting the platform’s relevance for immuno-oncology studies. Compared to other 3D HNSCC models, our system integrates mechanical tuning, electroporation compatibility, and immune-related biomarker expression, enabling functional validation of electric field-mediated intracellular delivery. This proof-of-concept platform demonstrates structural fidelity, long-term cell viability, and high reproducibility, offering a scalable, human-relevant tool for preclinical optimization of ECT and other electrically based therapies, bridging the gap between conventional 2D cultures and complex in vivo models.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Bioprinting
Electroporation
FaDu cancer cells
Head and neck cancer
Three-dimensional cancer model.
Funding
The work reported in this publication was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, RC-2021 grant #08053922 under the project, “Nano-Electro-Chemo-Immuno Therapy (NECIT) to enhance head and neck cancer treatment.” This study was also supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and the University of Pavia within the Departments of Excellence 2023–2027 program , as well as by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing