Some call it an exciting new application of 3-D printing. But scientists are making significant headway in the new field of Bio-Printing. Medical researchers say they will soon be able to print body organs, layer by layer, using printers and scanners. So how’s it work? Bio-printing unites a complex matrix of living tissues and cells to create fully functional body organs. Although the complex process is today slow and arduous, US Bo-Printing start-up Organovo is already printing living, three-dimensional human skin.
Bioprinting takes cultured human cells to form “bio-ink,” which is poured into cartridges attached to a syringe equipped with an extrusion nozzle for printing. A pattern of cells is deposited in layers, interspersed with a water-based hydrogel that supports the cells. The printed tissue simply grows naturally, and the hydrogel is subsequently removed.
Both L’Oréal and P&G are on board with this emerging technology. L’Oréal already runs a laboratory in Lyon, France, set up to produce in-vitro skin tissue. They’re working on several different in vitro skin models. Pharmaceutical companies are also looking at Bio-Printing to speed up and cut the cost of drug development and testing. Organovo has developed living liver tissue for medical and drug research and clinical trials. The hope is that day, Bio-Printing could be used to produce replacement organs for patients desperately in need of a transplant.
Conventional 3D printing of plastics and other materials has been around for decades, but Bio-Printing is still in the nascent stages of development. While the new technology is currently confined to research, a handful of companies are attempting to commercialize the production of bio-printed tissues. The immediate goal of 3D Bio-Printing is to speed up the tissue-making process and add more precision. Interest is gaining ground from both consumer goods companies and big pharma.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" and "The Search for Dr. Noble"—both now available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
