BUFFALO, NY – It looks like science fiction: a machine dips into a shallow tub of translucent yellow and pulls out what becomes a life-size hand.
But the seven-second video, accelerated from 19 minutes, is real.
The hand, which would take six hours to create using conventional 3D printing methods, demonstrates what University of Buffalo engineers say is progress toward 3D-printed human tissues and organs, a biotechnology that could save countless lives. lost due to lack of donor organs. .
“The technology we have developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard and works with large samples that have been very difficult to achieve before,” says study co-author Ruogang Zhao, doctor, associate professor of Biomedical Engineering.
The work is described in a study published Feb. 15 in the journal Advanced materials for health.
It focuses on a 3D printing method called stereolithography and jelly-shaped materials known as hydrogels, which are used to create, among other things, diapers, contact lenses, and scaffolding in tissue engineering.
The latter application is particularly useful in 3D printing, and is something that the research team devoted an important part of their effort to optimizing to achieve their incredibly fast and accurate 3D printing technique.
“Our method allows rapid printing of centimeter-sized hydrogel models. It significantly reduces partial deformation and cell damage caused by prolonged exposure to environmental stresses commonly seen in conventional 3D printing methods. “says the study’s other research. lead author, Chi Zhou, PhD, Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Researchers say the method is especially suitable for printing cells with embedded blood vessel networks, a nascent technology that is expected to be a central part of the production of 3D-printed human tissues and organs.
###
Early authors of the study include former UB students Nanditha Anandakrishnan, PhD, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, and Hang Ye, PhD, now a scientific researcher at SprintRay Inc. Zipeng Guo, Zhou lab’s current PhD candidate, is also a first-time author.
Other UB authors are from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, which is a joint program of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering; the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; and the Department of Medicine at the Jacobs School.
Other co-authors of the study are from the VA Western New York Healthcare System; the Department of Cell Stress Biology at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; and the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University.
The work was supported with funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health. The UB Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Jacobs Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences provided additional funding.
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! is not responsible for the accuracy of the statements published in EurekAlert. through collaborating institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.