This Newly Developed 3D Bioprinting Process Can Print Any Human Tissue, Potentially Transforming The Organ Shortage
According to the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration, over one hundred and five thousand people are on the national transplant waiting list.
Kidneys are the most sought-after organ, with just over ninety-thousand people waiting in line.
Thereafter, about twelve thousand people are waiting for a liver, three thousand and five hundred people are waiting for a heart, and just over one thousand are waiting for a lung.
Sadly, there are nowhere near enough organs to go around. Every single day, seventeen people in the U.S. alone die while waiting for an organ transplant.
This reality has pushed hopeful scientists to experiment with bioengineering, and one research team is making leaps and bounds.
Robert Chang, an associate professor at Stevens’ Schaefer School of Engineering & Science in New Jersey, recently published a groundbreaking research study that outlines an advanced 3D-printing plan for any human tissue.
The concept of 3D printing organs is nowhere near new. Although, the complex challenges have afforded the idea some pushback in recent years.
Current 3D bio-printers use extrusion, which, in other words, sprays bio-liquid out of a nozzle. The structures created are one-tenth the width of spaghetti.
Chang’s approach instead uses a process known as microfluidics. Microfluidics allows for a much more precise and manipulative application since the bio-liquid travels through minuscule channels.
nenetus – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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Not only is this process easier to control, but it also creates structures on a much smaller scale. In turn, the printer could create biological tissues measuring in at ten micrometers– which is very similar to the size of a single human cell.
“The scale is very important because it affects the biology of the organ. We are operating at the scale of human cells, which lets us print structures that mimic the biological features we are trying to replicate,” Chang explained.
Additionally, the printer allows for different cell and tissue types to be created interchangeably through the use of multiple bio-liquids. This is essential for more complex organs, such as the kidney and liver.
Simple organs, like bladders, have already been successfully created using traditional 3D bio-printing since they do not require a significant amount of cell types. To successfully create a liver or kidney, though, various cell types must be combined with immense precision.
“Being able to operate at this scale, and while precisely mixing bio-inks, makes it possible for us to reproduce any tissue type,” Chang said.
In turn, this approach has a widespread application that can potentially be accessible to various kinds of patients.
Since this research requires such precision, Chang and his research team have also developed a computational model to more accurately assess the numerous variables– including flow speed, channel structures, and material properties– that can affect patient outcomes.
While there is still a long road of experimentation ahead until Chang’s process becomes a mainstream medical option, he is hopeful that it may change future patient outcomes.
“This technology is still so new that we do not know precisely what it will enable. But, we know that it will open the door to creating new structures and important types of biology,” Chang said.
To read the study’s complete findings, visit the link here.
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