Muscle tissue produced with a 3D printer:
San Diego startup
Organovo
has developed a bioprinting technique which allows it to create human
tissue starting with any cell source. The printer deposits lines of
cells closely together, where they are allowed to grow and interconnect
until they form working muscle tissue.
Unlike other experimental approaches that utilize ink-jet printers to
deposit cells, Organovo’s technology enables cells to interact with
each other the way they do in the body. How? They are packed tightly
together, sandwiched, if you will, and incubated. This prompts them to
cleave to each other and interchange chemical signals. When printed, the
cells are grouped together in a paste that helps them grow, migrate,
and align themselves properly. In the case of muscle cells, the way they
orient themselves in the same direction allow for contractions of the
tissue.
The company hopes to one day build entire organs for transplants.
Because tissue is able to be built from a patient’s own cells, the risk
of rejection would be very low.
Source: MFoundation Blog
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