Form ligaments, tendons and intervertebral discs from 3D printing with "inks" carrying live cells

Form ligaments, tendons and intervertebral discs from 3D printing with "inks" carrying live cells https://i1.wp.com/www.eresviral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Formar-ligamentos-tendones-y-discos-intervertebrales-a-partir-de-impresión-3D-con-tintas-portadoras-de-células-vivas.jpg?fit=233%2C146&ssl=1

Form ligaments, tendons and intervertebral discs from 3D printing with "inks" carrying live cells





Form ligaments, tendons and intervertebral discs from 3D printing with "inks" carrying live cells


With current technology we can print 3D sculptures, mechanical parts, prosthetics and even weapons and food. But biomedical engineers have gone further, developing a 3D printing method with "inks" carrying live cells to produce human tissues such as ligaments, tendons and intervertebral discs. The new technique is expected to significantly improve patient recovery. A person with a severely damaged ligament, tendon, or intervertebral disc could be recovered simply by 3D printing of the replacement tissue and implanting it at the damaged site.



This promising advance is the work of the team of David Ede and Robby Bowles, from the University of Utah in the United States.



Bowles highlights this new technique that will allow patients to receive replacement tissues without additional operations and without having to remove tissue from other points, which has its own source of problems.



The 3D printing method, which took two years to develop, involves taking stem cells from the patient's own body fat and printing them (using a carrier "ink") on a layer of hydrogel to form, for example, a tendon or ligament that later it will grow in vitro in a culture before being implanted. It is an extremely complicated process, because that type of connective tissue is made of different cells and following complex patterns. For example, the cells that give shape to the tendon or ligament must gradually be transformed into bone cells so that the tissue can attach to the bone.







Through 3D printing it has been achieved that these cells, to which fluorescence of different colors was provided to achieve a better visibility of them, are located in the ideal sites to form very complex structures, something fundamental to achieve the production of tissues such as tendons and ligaments. (Image: Robby Bowles / University of Utah College of Engineering)



The new technique allows creating a pattern and cell organizations that would not be feasible to create with the previous technologies. It makes it possible for doctors to precisely and selectively control the formation of the desired tissue.



The development of the new technique was supported by the company Carterra, Inc., based in Salt Lake City (Utah, United States), which creates microfluidic devices for medicine. Bowles and his collaborators used a Carterra 3D printer normally used in the printing of antibodies for cancer screening applications. However, the Bowles team developed a special printhead for the printer that can deposit human cells in the controlled way that the task requires.



In order to demonstrate the concept, Bowles and his collaborators printed genetically modified cells that shine with a fluorescent color so that they can be clearly distinguished and the final product can be visualized.



The new technique has initially focused on the creation of ligaments, tendons and intervertebral discs, but Bowles believes that, within some time, it can be used for any type of tissue engineering. In a more distant future, it could also be applied to 3D printing of whole organs, an idea that researchers have been studying for years. In addition, it is very likely that the technology in the print head can be adapted for any kind of 3D printer.



Additional Information

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