Schematic of the latest biotechnology for 3D printing of organs inside hydrogels
New research introduces a new type of 3-D bioprinting technology that prints within a specially made sol-gel environment that provides support for the printed soft tissue, ensuring that the printed organs are not deformed by gravity in the air while the ink is not fully dry and set.
3D bioprinting technology has developed rapidly in recent years, and the medical industry is in urgent need of increasingly simulated human organs and tissues for various applications. Most printing devices nowadays contain bio-ink in a syringe-shaped syringe pump and print the desired object layer by layer.
However, the effect of gravity is the main obstacle, and these tissues always tend to deform before the ink dries. So now 3D printing technology can only print very small tissues.
The new study, published Feb. 16 in APL Bioengineering, a publication of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), describes a new printing technique called Free Reversible Embedding in Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH).
The gel used in this technique is composed of gelatin, alginate, carbopol, agarose, cell slurry, and other components, and has many functions, including providing the necessary support for soft tissue during printing, allowing the print needle to move freely through the gel, and helping to maintain the activity of biological cells within the bioink.
The study says the solute is compatible with a wide range of bioprinting inks. After printing is complete, the hydrogel is gently heated to 37 degrees Celsius, similar to human body temperature, and the gel can be melted to remove the completed printed object.
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