AmericaThe team, at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, overcomes the limitations of 3D printing technology to produce any type of tissue.
3D printer at the Science Museum in London, UK. Image: Oli Scarff
The work of researchers led by Robert Chang, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in the Stevens School of Engineering and Science, could pave the way to 3D printing any internal organ at any time. even the skin in an open wound. They published the study in a journal Scientific Reports.
Creating new organs to save lives without a donor would bring huge benefits to the healthcare industry. However, that goal is difficult to achieve because printing organs with bio-ink (hydrogel containing cultured cells) requires a high degree of control over the shape and size of printed microfilaments that current 3D printers have. unable to respond,” Chang said.
Chang and his colleagues hope to change that by developing a new 3D printing process that uses microfluids (precise control of liquids through microscopic channels) to operate on a much smaller scale than in the past. with present. Most current bio-based 3D printers spray bio-ink from a nozzle to form a structure as large as 200 micrometers, about one-tenth the width of a spaghetti strand. Microfluidic printers can print biological objects several tens of micrometers in size.
In addition to working on a smaller scale, microfluidication also allows the use of multiple bio-inks, each containing different cells, for alternate use inside a printer, similar to how conventional printers connect. Combines multiple color inks into one vibrant image. That’s important because while researchers have created a single organ like the bladder by promoting tissue growth on a 3D-printed scaffold, many complex organs like the liver and kidney require many precise combinations. different cell types.
To simplify the process, Chang’s team created a computer model of the microfluidic printhead, which adjusts settings and predicts outputs without meticulous testing. Their computer model accurately predicted the results of the actual microfluidic experiment. Chang used the model to guide his experiment in printing biological structures with a variety of shapes. The research results can be used in printing a combination of bio-inks that simulate tissue with the common shape and structure characteristics in the position between bone and muscle.
Chang is also exploring how to use 3D microfluidic printing to create skin and other tissue, allowing replacement tissue to be printed directly onto a patient’s wound.
An Khang (According to Newsweek)
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