Bioprinting news and discussion

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Scientists bioprint tissue-like constructs capable of controlled, complex shape change
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-scientist ... mplex.html
by University of Illinois at Chicago

Where standard 3D printing uses a digital blueprint to manufacture an object out of materials like plastic or resin, 3D bioprinting manufactures biological parts and tissues out of living cells, or bioinks. A fourth dimension—shape transformation over time—can be achieved by incorporating materials that enable printed constructs to morph multiple times in a preprogrammed or on-demand manner in response to external signals.

Bioprinting 4D constructs provides opportunities for scientists to better mimic the shape changes that occur during the development, healing and normal function of real tissues and fabricate complex structures.

A new study in the science journal Advanced Materials describes the development of a new cell-laden bioink, comprised of tightly-packed, flake-shaped microgels and living cells, for bioprinting 4D constructs. This new system enables the production of cell-rich bioconstructs that can change shape under physiological conditions.

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Turmeric compound helps grow engineered blood vessels and tissues
https://phys.org/news/2022-04-turmeric- ... ssues.html
by Holly Ober, University of California - Riverside

A finding by UC Riverside bioengineers could hasten development of lab-grown blood vessels and other tissues to replace and regenerate damaged tissues in human patients. The results are published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and is known to suppress angiogenesis in malignant tumors. Bioengineers at UC Riverside have now discovered that when delivered through magnetic hydrogels into stem cell cultures this versatile compound paradoxically also promotes the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, that helps vascular tissues grow.

Curcumin's possible use for vascular regeneration has been suspected for some time but has not been well studied. Huinan Liu, a bioengineering professor in UCR's Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, led a project to investigate curcumin's regenerative properties by coating magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with the compound and mixing them into a biocompatible hydrogel.

When cultured with stem cells derived from bone marrow, the magnetic hydrogel gradually released the curcumin without injuring the cells. Compared to hydrogels embedded with bare nanoparticles, the group of hydrogels loaded with curcumin-coated nanoparticles showed a higher amount of VEGF secretion.

"Our study shows that curcumin released from magnetic hydrogels promotes the cells to secrete VEGF, which is one of the most critical growth factors to enhance the formation of new blood vessels," said co-author Changlu Xu, a doctoral candidate in Liu's group who focused on hydrogel research.

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Cellular “Glue” to Regenerate Tissues, Heal Wounds, Regrow Nerves
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2022/12/42441 ... row-nerves

Researchers at UC San Francisco have engineered molecules that act like “cellular glue,” allowing them to direct in precise fashion how cells bond with each other. The discovery represents a major step toward building tissues and organs, a long-sought goal of regenerative medicine.

Adhesive molecules are found naturally throughout the body, holding its tens of trillions of cells together in highly organized patterns. They form structures, create neuronal circuits and guide immune cells to their targets. Adhesion also facilitates communication between cells to keep the body functioning as a self-regulating whole.

In a new study, published in the Dec. 12, 2022, issue of Nature, researchers engineered cells containing customized adhesion molecules that bound with specific partner cells in predictable ways to form complex multicellular ensembles.

[wjfox]

I think this thread could perhaps be merged with Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine News and Discussions.

[weatheriscool]

I think this thread could perhaps be merged with Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine News and Discussions.

Isn't this different in some ways? It could be the same but with slight difference in approach.

[weatheriscool]

Researchers use 3D bioprinting to create eye tissue
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12- ... issue.html
by National Eye Institute

Scientists used patient stem cells and 3D bioprinting to produce eye tissue that will advance understanding of the mechanisms of blinding diseases. The research team from the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, printed a combination of cells that form the outer blood-retina barrier—eye tissue that supports the retina's light-sensing photoreceptors. The technique provides a theoretically unlimited supply of patient-derived tissue to study degenerative retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

"We know that AMD starts in the outer blood-retina barrier," said Kapil Bharti, Ph.D., who heads the NEI Section on Ocular and Stem Cell Translational Research. "However, mechanisms of AMD initiation and progression to advanced dry and wet stages remain poorly understood due to the lack of physiologically relevant human models." The outer blood-retina barrier consists of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), separated by Bruch's membrane from the blood-vessel rich choriocapillaris. Bruch's membrane regulates the exchange of nutrients and waste between the choriocapillaris and the RPE. In AMD, lipoprotein deposits called drusen form outside Bruch's membrane, impeding its function. Over time, the RPE break down leading to photoreceptor degeneration and vision loss.

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Simple but revolutionary modular organoids created with hydrogels
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-simple-re ... ogels.html
by RIKEN

A team led by Masaya Hagiwara of RIKEN national science institute in Japan has developed an ingenious device, using layers of hydrogels in a cube-like structure, that allows researchers to construct complex 3D organoids without using elaborate techniques. The group also recently demonstrated the ability to use the device to build organoids that faithfully reproduce the asymmetric genetic expression that characterizes the actual development of organisms. The device has the potential to revolutionize the way we test drugs, and could also provide insights into how tissues develop and lead to better techniques for growing artificial organs.

Scientists have long struggled to create organoids—organ-like tissues grown in the laboratory—to replicate actual biological development. Creating organoids that function similarly to real tissues is important for developing medicines, since it is necessary to understand how drugs move through various tissues. Organoids also help us gain insights into the process of development itself, and are a stepping stone on the way to growing whole organs that can help patients.

[weatheriscool]

Entering a new era of 3D printing for DNAs and proteins

by Pohang University of Science and TechnologyEntering a new era of 3D printing for DNAs and proteins
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-era-3d-dnas-proteins.html

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a useful technique that has been widely utilized in our lives, ranging from reconstructive plastic surgery to artificial organ production. However, many biopolymers, such as nucleic acids, polysaccharides, and proteins, cannot be readily constructed into a desired 3D shape at the submicron- or nanoscale due to their inherent rheological and structural properties. Can we truly achieve the free-form and high-resolution structuring of various biomolecules using 3D printing technology?

A team of researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at POSTECH led by Professor Seung Soo Oh, Professor Emeritus Jung Ho Je, Dr. Moon-Jung Yong, and Ph.D. candidates Un Yang and Byunghwa Kang has developed a groundbreaking 3D printing technology that directly allows precise writing and patterning of various biopolymers with full mechanical stability and functional integrity.

Their findings have been published in Advanced Science.

The research team has presented a novel 3D printing strategy that preserves the folding structure and molecular function of various biopolymers by sequentially confining, evaporating, and solidifying a biopolymer-containing solution.

Irrespective of biopolymer types, this technique can produce 3D biopolymeric architectures with precisely-controlled size and geometry at submicron resolution.

Furthermore, it allows the printed biopolymers to exhibit their own desired functions, thereby achieving pin-point localization of spatiotemporal biofunctions, including molecular recognition and catalytic reactions.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a useful technique that has been widely utilized in our lives, ranging from reconstructive plastic surgery to artificial organ production. However, many biopolymers, such as nucleic acids, polysaccharides, and proteins, cannot be readily constructed into a desired 3D shape at the submicron- or nanoscale due to their inherent rheological and structural properties. Can we truly achieve the free-form and high-resolution structuring of various biomolecules using 3D printing technology?

A team of researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at POSTECH led by Professor Seung Soo Oh, Professor Emeritus Jung Ho Je, Dr. Moon-Jung Yong, and Ph.D. candidates Un Yang and Byunghwa Kang has developed a groundbreaking 3D printing technology that directly allows precise writing and patterning of various biopolymers with full mechanical stability and functional integrity.

Their findings have been published in Advanced Science.

The research team has presented a novel 3D printing strategy that preserves the folding structure and molecular function of various biopolymers by sequentially confining, evaporating, and solidifying a biopolymer-containing solution.

Irrespective of biopolymer types, this technique can produce 3D biopolymeric architectures with precisely-controlled size and geometry at submicron resolution.

Furthermore, it allows the printed biopolymers to exhibit their own desired functions, thereby achieving pin-point localization of spatiotemporal biofunctions, including molecular recognition and catalytic reactions.

[weatheriscool]

New temperature-controlled 3D-printing bioink safer for artificial organs
By Paul McClure
April 16, 2023
https://newatlas.com/medical/new-temper ... effective/

3D bioprinting is gaining popularity as a way of treating disease and injury by producing three-dimensional living tissues and organs. However, to work effectively, the “inks” used for bioprinting must be firmed up using UV light or chemical processes. But now researchers have developed a new bioink that hardens in response to body temperature, making it safer for potential use in artificial organs and tissue regeneration applications.

Bioprinting uses 3D-printable bioinks, substances – usually containing cells – that cause the body to elicit a biological response aimed at tissue regeneration. Bioinks must have particular mechanical and biological properties to be used in extrusion-based bioprinters due to the high stresses of the 3D-printing process. They also need to be biocompatible and biodegradable.

Current hydrogel-based bioinks must undergo a photocuring process before being used in the body. Photocuring causes crosslinking, the formation of strong, permanent covalent bonds between polymer chains in the hydrogel that increases its mechanical strength and stability under physiological conditions. The photoinitiators introduced into the hydrogel to enable photocuring are activated by ultraviolet (UV) light, but UV light can damage the cells’ DNA. Chemical crosslinking, an alternative to photocuring, uses a reagent (crosslinker) to achieve the same result.

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Humans may soon grow new teeth, with promising drug trial set
By Bronwyn Thompson
July 17, 2023

Some sharks get a new set of teeth every few weeks, while crocodiles can go through thousands of chompers in their long lifetimes. Yet the ability to endlessly replace our pearly whites is something that’s eluded us and nearly all other mammals. By the time our 32 ‘adult’ teeth grow in, that’s as good as it gets.

Now, a Japanese team of scientists is set to trial an experimental drug that would allow humans to grow completely new teeth.

A clinical trial scheduled for July 2024 will initially be for participants with tooth agenesis, a genetic condition that results in the absence of teeth, but the scientists have a view to making the treatment available for general use by as soon as 2030.

"The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist's dream.” said Katsu Takahashi, lead researcher and head of the dentistry and oral surgery department at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka. “I’ve been working on this since I was a graduate student. I was confident I'd be able to make it happen.”

https://newatlas.com/medical/humans-gro ... rug-trial/

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New method a step toward future 3D printing of human tissues
https://phys.org/news/2023-08-method-fu ... ssues.html
by University of Sydney

A team of bioengineers and biomedical scientists from the University of Sydney and the Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) at Westmead have used 3D photolithographic printing to create a complex environment for assembling tissue that mimics the architecture of an organ.

The teams were led by Professor Hala Zreiqat and Dr. Peter Newman at the University of Sydney's School of Biomedical Engineering and developmental biologist Professor Patrick Tam who leads the CMRI's Embryology Research Unit. Their paper was published in Advanced Science.

Using bioengineering and cell culture methods, the technique was used to instruct stem cells derived from blood cells or skin cells to become specialized cells that can assemble into an organ-like structure.

Similar to how the needle of a record player navigates the vinyl grooves to create music, cells use strategically positioned proteins and mechanical triggers to navigate through their intricate environment, replicating developmental processes. The team's latest research employed microscopic mechanical and chemical signals to recreate the cellular activities during development.

Professor Hala Zreiqat said, "Our new method serves as an instruction manual for cells, allowing them to create tissues that are better organized and more closely resemble their natural counterparts. This is an important step towards being able to 3D print working tissue and organs."

[caltrek]

Cell-friendly Bioprinting at High Fidelity Enhances Its Medical Applicability
October 16, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Osaka, Japan – What if organ damage could be repaired by simply growing a new organ in the lab? Improving researchers’ ability to print live cells on demand into geometrically well-defined, soft complex 3D architectures is essential to such work, as well as for animal-free toxicological testing.

In a study recently published in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, researchers from Osaka University have overcome prior limitations that have hindered cell growth and the geometrical fidelity of bioprinted architectures. This work might help bring 3D-printed cell constructs closer to mimicking biological tissue and organs.

Further extracts:

“In our approach, a 3D printer alternately dispenses the cell-containing ink and a printing support," explains Takashi Kotani, lead author of the study. “The interesting point is that the support also plays a role in facilitating the solidification of the ink. All that’s necessary for ink solidification is in the support, and after removing the support, the geometry of the soft printed cell structures remains intact.”
…
“We largely retain mouse fibroblast cell geometry and growth, and the cells remain viable for at least two weeks,” says Shinji Sakai, senior author. “These cells also adhere to and proliferate on our constructs, which highlights our work’s potential in tissue engineering.”

This new technique is an important step forward to engineering human cell assemblies and tissues. Further work might involve further optimizing the ink and support, as well as incorporating blood vessels into the artificial tissue to improve its resemblance to physiological architectures. Regenerative medicine, pharmaceutical toxicology, and other fields will all benefit from this work and further improvements in the precise fidelity of bioprinting.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1004773

[raklian]

[raklian]

Application of artificial intelligence in 3D printing physical organ models
Liang Ma, Shijie Yu, Xiaodong Xu, Sidney Moses Amadi, Jing Zhang and Zhifei Wang



Highlights

• Physical organ models are highly simulated and provide accurate simulation of human organs for medical training and surgical planning.
• 3D printing can create complex physical organ models and reduce production time.
• The use of artificial intelligence in 3D printing offers the potential to efficiently print high-quality physical organ models.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing will become technologies that profoundly impact humanity. 3D printing of patient-specific organ models is expected to replace animal carcasses, providing scenarios that simulate the surgical environment for preoperative training and educating patients to propose effective solutions. Due to the complexity of 3D printing manufacturing, it is still used on a small scale in clinical practice, and there are problems such as the low resolution of obtaining MRI/CT images, long consumption time, and insufficient realism. AI has been effectively used in 3D printing as a powerful problem-solving tool. This paper introduces 3D printed organ models, focusing on the idea of AI application in 3D printed manufacturing of organ models. Finally, the potential application of AI to 3D-printed organ models is discussed. Based on the synergy between AI and 3D printing that will benefit organ model manufacturing and facilitate clinical preoperative training in the medical field, the use of AI in 3D-printed organ model making is expected to become a reality.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... ing%20time

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Scientists 3D-print hair follicles in lab-grown skin
The technique represents an important step in engineering skin grafts, drug testing
By Samantha Murray

https://news.rpi.edu/content/2023/11/15 ... grown-skin
A team led by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has 3D-printed hair follicles in human skin tissue cultured in the lab. This marks the first time researchers have used the technology to generate hair follicles, which play an important role in skin healing and function.

The finding, published in the journal “Science Advances,” has potential applications in regenerative medicine and drug testing, though engineering skin grafts that grow hair are still several years away.

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Sound waves harden 3D-printed treatments in deep tissues
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12- ... ssues.html
by Duke University

Engineers at Duke University and Harvard Medical School have developed a bio-compatible ink that solidifies into different 3D shapes and structures by absorbing ultrasound waves. Because it responds to sound waves rather than light, the ink can be used in deep tissues for biomedical purposes ranging from bone healing to heart valve repair.

This work appears on in the journal Science.

The uses of 3D-printing tools are ever increasing. Printers create prototypes of medical devices, design flexible, lightweight electronics, and even engineer tissues used in wound healing. However, many of these printing techniques involve building the object point-by-point in a slow and arduous process that often requires a robust printing platform.

To circumvent these issues over the past several years, researchers developed a photo-sensitive ink that responds directly to targeted beams of light and quickly hardens into a desired structure. While this printing technique can substantially improve the speed and quality of a print, researchers can only use transparent inks for the prints, and biomedical purposes are limited, as light can't reach beyond a few millimeters deep into the tissue.

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New ultrasound tech could be used to 3D-print implants inside the body
By Ben Coxworth
December 08, 2023

In order to keep surgeries minimally invasive, it would be great if implants could be injected into the body in liquid form, then solidified once in place. Well, a new ultrasound-based 3D printing process may one day make that very thing possible.

The most common type of 3D printing involves building three-dimensional objects by depositing successive layers of viscous material that subsequently hardens. Another established method of 3D printing, known as volumetric printing, involves shining beams or patterns of light through the transparent top and sides of a container, inside of which is a photosensitive gelatinous resin.

Wherever that resin is exposed to the light, it polymerizes (solidifies) – the rest of the resin in the container remains a gel. By moving the light source around, so it reaches different parts of the resin, it's possible to gradually build up a very detailed three-dimensional object.

One of the limiting factors of volumetric printing is the fact that for the light to reach its target, the container and the resin have to be transparent. Because human skin and biological tissue are nearly opaque, light can only reach a few millimeters through them. This means that in its current form, the technique can't be used to build implants within the body.

https://newatlas.com/3d-printing/deep-p ... ting-dvap/

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Printing plant-based pharmaceuticals—without plants
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-based-pha ... icals.html
by Lindsey Valich, University of Rochester

Rochester undergraduates have developed a 3D-bioprinting system to replicate chemicals found in plants, including those endangered by climate change.

Imagine a world without plants. Although this extreme scenario has not become a reality, Earth is facing a concerning trend—the rapid depletion of potential plant-derived drugs. Globally, tens of thousands of flowering plant species play vital roles in medicinal applications, but many of the pharmaceuticals dominating the United States market heavily rely on imported raw plant materials that require very particular climate conditions for optimal growth.

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A new approach to producing artificial cartilage with the help of 3D printing
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-approach- ... ge-3d.html
by Aleksandr Ovsianikov, Vienna University of Technology

Is it possible to grow tissue in the laboratory, for example to replace injured cartilage? At TU Wien (Vienna), an important step has now been taken toward creating replacement tissue in the lab—using a technique that differs significantly from other methods used around the world. The study is published in Acta Biomaterialia.

A special high-resolution 3D printing process is used to create tiny, porous spheres made of biocompatible and degradable plastic, which are then colonized with cells. These spheroids can then be arranged in any geometry, and the cells of the different units combine seamlessly to form a uniform, living tissue. Cartilage tissue, with which the concept has now been demonstrated at TU Wien, was previously considered particularly challenging in this respect.

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Researchers design gel from wood pulp to heal damaged heart tissue, improve cancer treatments
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-gel-wood- ... issue.html
by University of Waterloo

You can mend a broken heart this Valentine's Day now that researchers have invented a new hydrogel that can be used to heal damaged heart tissue and improve cancer treatments.

University of Waterloo chemical engineering researcher Dr. Elisabeth Prince teamed up with researchers from the University of Toronto and Duke University to design the synthetic material made using cellulose nanocrystals, which are derived from wood pulp. The material is engineered to replicate the fibrous nanostructures and properties of human tissues, thereby recreating its unique biomechanical properties.

The research was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.