Cholesterol degradation rates of free and immobilized Rhodococcus erythropolis (ATCC # 25544) were studied utilizing the bacterium's cholesterol oxidase enzyme pathway to degrade cholesterol in an aqueous simulated non-calcified plaque solution. An L-16 (4(5)) Taguchi design was used to minimize the glycolipid bio-surfactant by-product in the growth medium, to improve bacterial viability in the immobilized state. As an expected outcome of miniaturization, there is a significant difference between the atomized (d =850 +/- 50 mu m ) and inkjet-bioprinted (d =32 +/- 5 mm) lumped kinetic degradation rates after 48 h (p =0.029, a =0.05) per mI of jetted alginate. Based on a biphasic cholesterol degradation model, at an initial bacterial cell density of N-low =4.53 Chi 10(8) /ml, for an initial cholesterol concentration of 3 mg/ml, the percentage mass of metabolite degraded is 37.0% +/- 0.42%, 57.8% +/- 0.04% and 65.1% +/- 0.01% for the free, atomized and inkjet immobilized bacteria, respectively.