For decades, one of the challenges in replicating human tissues has been figuring out a way to get nutrients and oxygen into the tissue and how to remove waste. Our bodies use vascular networks to do this, but it's been hard to recreate those in soft, artificial materials. This new tool overcomes those challenges by printing thin layers of a liquid, pre-hydrogel solution, which becomes solid when it's exposed to blue light. This allowed the scientists to create biocompatible gels with intricate internal architecture similar to the human body's vascular networks. The researchers relied on other open-source projects to create their tool -- called the stereolithography apparatus for tissue engineering, or SLATE. And as a way of giving back, they've made SLATE open source, as well. Their findings were published in Science this week, and all of their experiment data is free and open to the public. While the researchers say we're just beginning to understand the complex form and function of the body's structures, they hope this will help make 3D-printed organs a viable option sooner rather than later.
Scientists have taken a significant step towards bioprinting 3D organs for transplants. Researchers from Rice University and the University of Washington have developed a tool which is able to print highly complex vascular networks that replicate those found in the body, one of the largest challenges in developing functional artificial organs. The tool uses thin layers of a liquid pre-hydrogel solution which solidifies upon exposure to blue light, allowing scientists to develop biocompatible gels which can be moulded to accurately mimic the body's vascular networks.