A new study describes the development of a novel hybrid polymer suitable for producing 3D-printed scaffolds on which living cells can be seeded to create engineered tissues. The ability to use these hybrid polymer spools with easy-to-operate, commercial 3D printers is demonstrated in the study published in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing.
Lucas Albrecht, Stephen Sawyer, and Pranav Soman, Syracuse University, NY, present the methods used to produce polycaprolactone-based polymers and to fabricate scaffolds using a Makerbot 3D Fused Deposition Modelling printer. In the article "Developing 3D Scaffolds in the Field of Tissue Engineering to Treat Complex Bone Defects," the researchers report how they overcame the challenges associated with creating composite polymer spools. The authors incorporated living cells mixed with gelatin hydrogels into the scaffolds and achieved high levels of cell survival. They discuss potential applications of these techniques, including tissue engineering to repair complex bone defects.
Developing 3D Scaffolds in the Field of Tissue Engineering to Treat Complex Bone Defects (open, DOI: 10.1089/3dp.2016.0006) (DX)
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Researchers have developed an "ink" for creating synthetic bone implants that induce bone regeneration:
A Northwestern Engineering research team has developed a 3-D printable ink that produces a synthetic bone implant that rapidly induces bone regeneration and growth. This hyperelastic "bone" material, whose shape can be easily customized, one day could be especially useful for the treatment of bone defects in children.
[...] Shah's 3-D printed biomaterial is a mix of hydroxyapatite (a calcium mineral found naturally in human bone) and a biocompatible, biodegradable polymer that is used in many medical applications, including sutures. Shah's hyperelastic "bone" material shows great promise in in vivo animal models; this success lies in the printed structure's unique properties. It's majority hydroxyapatite yet hyperelastic, robust and porous at the nano, micro and macro levels. "Porosity is huge when it comes to tissue regeneration, because you want cells and blood vessels to infiltrate the scaffold," Shah said. "Our 3-D structure has different levels of porosity that is advantageous for its physical and biological properties."
While hydroxyapatite has been proven to induce bone regeneration, it is also notoriously tricky to work with. Clinical products that use hydroxyapatite or other calcium phosphate ceramics are hard and brittle. To compensate for that, previous researchers created structures composed mostly of polymers, but this shields the activity of the bioceramic. Shah's bone biomaterial, however, is 90 percent by weight percent hydroxyapatite and just 10 percent by weight percent polymer and still maintains its elasticity because of the way its structure is designed and printed. The high concentration of hydroxyapatite creates an environment that induces rapid bone regeneration. [...] That's not to say that other substances couldn't be combined into the ink. Because the 3-D printing process is performed at room temperature, Shah's team was able to incorporate other elements, such as antibiotics, into the ink.
Also at Nature Research Highlights (DOI: 10.1038/538008a).
Hyperelastic "bone": A highly versatile, growth factor–free, osteoregenerative, scalable, and surgically friendly biomaterial (DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf7704) (DX)
Previously:
A Novel Hybrid Polymer Simplifies 3-D Printing of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 24 2016, @04:54PM
Poor people keep reproducing please, we need you to die in Uber accidents so we can grind up your corpses and use them to 3D print replacement organs for rich people.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 24 2016, @05:27PM
Poor people and their inferior DNA aren't needed. Tissue will be grown from scratch.
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