[ad_1]
3D printed ‘bones’ made of living cells are formed for the first time at room temperature using a special gel that allows doctors to build structures minutes before surgery
- Scientists 3D printed room temperature ‘bone’ with special ink
- The ink contains the patient’s living cells, as well as calcium phosphate
- Mixture hardens within minutes of mixing with bodily fluids
- It then turns into mechanically nested bone nanocrystals
A new innovation allows scientists to 3D print human bones from a person’s own living cells and for the first time, the process was performed at room temperature.
A team from the Australian University of New South Wales-Sydney created a “ bio-ink ” gel containing a patient’s living bone cells in a solution of calcium phosphate, which are minerals necessary for the formation and maintenance of bones.
Using a technique known as Ceramic Omnidirectional Bioprinting in Cell Suspensions (COBICS), the gel is 3D printed directly into the patient’s bone cavity instead of surgeons having to remove a part from a location. different.
The material then hardens within minutes after being exposed to bodily fluids and transforms into mechanically interwoven bone nanocrystals.
Scroll down the video
New innovation allows scientists to 3D print human bones from a person’s own living cells and for the first time the process was performed at room temperature
3D printing bone-mimicking structures is nothing new, but the University of New South Wales-Sydney method allows the process to be performed at room temperature for the first time.
This means that bones can be created on-site inside a medical room, while using the patient’s own living cells.
Dr Iman Roohani, from the UNSW School of Chemistry, said: “This is a unique technology that can produce structures that closely mimic bone tissue.”
“It could be used in clinical applications where there is a high demand for in situ repair of bone defects such as those caused by trauma, cancer or where a large piece of tissue is resected.
A team from the Australian University of New South Wales-Sydney created a “ bio-ink ” gel containing a patient’s living bone cells in a solution of calcium phosphate, which are minerals necessary for the formation and maintenance of bones.
Prior to this work, if a patient needed a piece of bone, doctors would have to remove a section from a different place on the body.
And 3D printing was only available by first going to a lab to fabricate the structures using high-temperature furnaces and toxic chemicals.
Associate Professor Kristopher Kilian, who co-developed the breakthrough technology, said: ‘This produces a dry material which is then introduced into a clinical environment or a laboratory, where they wash it thoroughly and then add living cells to it. ‘, explains Professor Kilian. .
Using a technique known as Ceramic Omnidirectional Bioprinting in Cell Suspensions (COBICS), the gel is 3D printed directly into the patient’s bone cavity instead of surgeons having to remove a part from a different location. .
The special ink designed for the process forms a structure chemically similar to bone building blocks, scientists say.
“ The cool thing about our technique is that you can just extrude it directly into a place where there are cells, like a cavity in a patient’s bone. We can go right into the bone where there are cells, blood vessels, and fat, and print a bone-like structure that already has living cells in, right in that area.
“There is currently no technology that can do this directly.”
The special ink designed for the process forms a structure chemically similar to bone building blocks, scientists say.
“ The ink is formulated in such a way that the conversion is fast, non-toxic in a biological environment and it only starts when the ink is exposed to bodily fluids, thus providing sufficient working time for the end user. , for example to surgeons. Said Dr Roohani.
He explains that the ink combines with a collagen substance that contains living cells, “ it enables the in situ fabrication of bone-like tissue that may be suitable for bone tissue engineering applications, disease modeling, drug screening and in situ bone reconstruction. and osteochondral defects.
[ad_2]
Source link