| A team of researchers from University of Lincoln, Nebraska, Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a new type of bio-ink for 3D printing, which contains platelet-rich plasma. This allows for biological 3D printing. Tissues have improved healing properties. Platelets in the blood coagulate around the wound and also repair damage to soft tissues such as blood vessels, skin, muscles, tendons, etc. It has proven useful to use platelet-rich plasma substances as a surgical treatment in the past, and Combine it with biological 3D printing technology to create a new medical application.  'The ultimate goal is to print an implantable functional organizational structure to replace or repair damaged tissue.' said Ali Tamayol, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering at Nebraska. One of the challenges is to create a structure, When the selected tissue or organ is implanted after injury, growth factors are released and the healing and regeneration process is initiated. 'The team's bio-ink contains a mixture of alginate gel and platelet cells. This is developed for bioprinting. However, the first stage is to test its ability to affect healing. Compared to similar inks without platelets, initial testing of the ink in the lab has promising results. In less than a day, the platelet-rich ink has prompted sufficient cell migration to heal about 50% of the artificial Scratches on the skin, while the platelet-free version covers only 5% of it. The ink also exhibits other unique properties that platelets can provide, which is what it can call "enhanced" cells. It takes less than 24 hours. More than twice as many stem cells migrate to the platelet-free form. These stem cells can develop into muscle, cartilage or bone. Calcium chloride is then added to the ink, which forms a bond between the polymer chains of some alginates. This makes the material more viscous but still has sufficient plasticity for 3D printing. Many structures are printed with ink, including Mesh, tree structure and serpentine lines. It was proven to be able to print effectively, exhibiting healing potential and printable potential. The 3D printed structures are then immersed in a solution of calcium chloride to further strengthen them, which is the method used by the body itself. The damage site naturally raises the calcium level naturally, so implementing this method helps to strengthen 3D when implanted in the body. Bioprinted alginate structures. When developed to surgical application levels, bio-inks can also be mixed with the patient's own platelets and other cells. This mixture can reduce the risk of an immune response to implanted 3D bioprinted structures. Lowest because it will be based on the patient's own DNA.
The research team's findings were described in detail in a paper entitled "3D Bioprinting for Patient-Specific Bioinks Tissue Engineering Scaffolds" published in the 'Advanced Healthcare Materials' journal. Their project was awarded the National Health Research of the United States. Homes, support for the Negrix Tobacco Settlements and the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Sage Research Fund. Source: China 3D Printing Network |
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