The fast 3D printing method moves to 3D printed organs

It looks like science fiction: A machine immerses in a shallow barrel of translucent yellow cast and takes out a life-size hand.

But the seven-second video, which is being accelerated from 19 minutes, is real.

The hand, which takes six hours to create using conventional 3-D printing methods, shows what Buffalo University engineers claim to be advancing toward 3-D-printed human tissues and organs – biotechnology that can eventually save countless lives due to the shortage. of donor organs.

“The technology we have developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard, and it works with large sample sizes that were previously very difficult to achieve,” says co-lead author Ruogang Zhao, Ph.D. associate professor in biomedical engineering.

The work is described in a study published in the journal on February 15. Advanced healthcare materials.

It focuses on a three-dimensional printing method called stereolithography and jelly-like materials, known as hydrogen, which is used to create, among other things, diapers, contact lenses and scaffolding in tissue engineering.

The latter application is particularly useful in 3D printing, and it is something that the research team has spent a great deal of effort on to achieve its incredibly fast and accurate 3D printing technique.

“Our method allows for the rapid pressure of centimeter hydrogel models. It reduces partial deformation and cellular injuries caused by the prolonged exposure to environmental stress that you normally see in conventional 3D printing methods,” says the study’s co-lead author. , Chi Zhou, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

According to researchers, the method is particularly suitable for printing cells with embedded vascular networks, an emerging technology that is expected to be a central part of the production of 3-D-printed human tissue and organs.