Found a way to keep cells alive when 3D printing large organs

Someday, 3D printing technology will save the world fromlack of donor organs - the heart, kidneys and other parts of the body can be created with the help of printers. Unfortunately, at the moment the printing of large organs is impossible, since it requires a lot of time, during which the living cells simply die. Fortunately, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have figured out how to solve this problem by changing the printing method, as well as using a cryogenic chamber and a robotic arm.

Instead of creating a whole body at a timeThe researchers propose to print it each layer on a separate two-dimensional sheet. In order to prevent the cells from dying off, each sheet must be frozen in a cryogenic chamber - to put them there, it is proposed to use a robotic arm. Subsequently, each finished layer with live cells can be superimposed on each other, thereby creating a three-dimensional structure of the finished organ.

Currently, bioprinting is used inmainly to create small volumes of fabric. The problem with 3D bioprinting is that it is a very slow process, so you will not be able to print anything big, because biological materials will deteriorate by the time you finish. We propose to freeze the material during the printing process and maintain its viability.

Boris Rubinsky, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

The team recognizes that this printing method is not new,but they were the first to use it for printing organs. It is noteworthy that scientists from Tel Aviv University scientists recently announced that they were able to print the heart with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and cameras.

If you are interested in the news of science and technology, we recommend that you subscribe to our channel in Yandex. Dzen. There you will find materials that are not published on the site!