The Fut ur e of Regener at i ve Medi c i ne

Intro
Today I am going to briefly go over what bio-printing is
and a few of the many ways researchers are making
progress in this area of bioengineering.


Leading in
For decades the goal of tissue engineers has been to
advance beyond simple two-dimensional cell cultures to
creating three-dimensional organs (Invetech).

In 2013, bioengineers at Cornell publicized their artificial ear
created using 3-D printing and injectable molds (Cornell).

Also in 2013, scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh
developed the worlds first 3d printer that prints embryonic
stem cells and in 2014, Harvards bioengineering researchers
published a revolutionary 3D bio-printing method for creating
tissues and their essential nourishing blood vessels at the
same time.
All the Rage
There are teams of scientists all over the world
working on 3D bio-printing projects from printing 3D
heart valves and muscles for drug testing and for use
as medical models to bio-printing liver tissues in hopes
of printing complete tissues for implantation.

GizMag.com
3D Printed Ear and Heart Valve
Cornell Princeton
A Little Bizarre
Yes. It is.
What is 3D bio-printing?

The idea of regenerative medicine is to repair, replace and/or
regenerate damaged cells, tissues or organs. Bio-printing
produces three-dimensional biological objects or parts that are
highly precise in shape and mechanical complexity. Using a
computer-assisted design (CAD) and/or computer-assisted
manufacturing (CAM) blueprints, the bio-printer deposits ultra-
thin layers of living cells upon each other, following a precise
geometric pattern that matches the [tissue]dimensions, building
the part vertically as the layers accumulate. Over a period of
time, the final tissue construct is completed (ASME). The
tissues may continue to grow and develop depending on what is
being printed and what physiological environment it is put in
after the initial printing.

Same as Prosthetics?
Nope. Prosthetics are non-living. Although prosthetic
valve replacement is the standard procedure for adults,
these prosthetic devices are inadequate for younger
adults and growing children. Tissue engineering has the
potential to address these limitations of nonliving
prosthetics (as well as human donor supply shortages)
by providing living tissues that can grow, remodel, and
integrate with the patient (ASME).

Biomaterials have been adapted for 3-D bio-printing,
including co-polymer hydrogels. Alginate, for example, is
a naturally occurring anionic polymer with many
attractive features for biomedical applications, including
low cost, excellent biocompatibility, low toxicity, and a
variety of cross-linking capabilities (ASME).

Why are we doing this?
We can save lives!
Well, yes, there is the possibility of growing new organs for
sick patients awaiting transplants. And these transplants
would be less likely to be rejected as they would be
essentially grown from the patients own cells. While these
advantages alone are amazing to think about, the other
real win that is associated with tissue engineers being
able to 3D print human tissues, is that they can study cell
behavior, such as cancer cell resistance to therapy, and
test new drugs or combinations of drugs to treat many
diseases (Science Daily) including neurodegenerative
and autoimmune disorders.
The Challenge?
The problems have revolved around being able to
create complex enough structures that do not die from
within. Printing thick layers of cells, in which the inner
cells survive, has proven to be difficult. Harvard
researchers have developed a method that opens up
new possibilities in the quest to 3D print complete
human organs.

What is their NEW Method?
Their method creates intricately patterned, three-
dimensional tissue constructs with multiple types of
cells and tiny blood vesselsTo print 3D tissue
constructs with a predefined pattern, the researchers
needed functional inks with useful biological
properties, so they developed several bio-inks
tissue-friendly inks containing key ingredients of living
tissues (Harvard).
Bio-inks?
One ink contained extracellular matrix, the
biological material that knits cells into tissues. A
second ink contained both extracellular matrix and
living cells.

To create blood vessels, they developed a third ink
with an unusual property: it melts as it cools, rather
than as it warms. This allowed the scientists to first
print an interconnected network of filaments, then
melt them by chilling the material and suction the
liquid out to create a network of hollow tubes, or
vessels (Harvard).

What does that look like?
So, who is making these printers?
Can I buy one?
Organovo is one of the big bio-tech names in the field.
Right now, Organovo is leading the game with an article
released earlier this month stating that they have been
able to create blood vessels that are up to 5 centimeters
long and can be kept alive outside the body for about 40
days and can be used to test drugs (Miami-CBS).

You can buy anything with enough money.

Organovos TedMed Talk
Final Note
Billions of dollars are spent every year on medical
research. Very few drugs actually make it to market. Most
fail before making the leap from pre-clinical animal trials to
actual human testing. If you think about it, we are always
hearing about successes in mice and rats, but we hear
little about successful human trials. I encourage everyone
to watch the TedMed Talk that Organovo presented in
2011.

This is just some of the exciting news in the area of bio-
printing. There is new research coming out regularly, and
institutions of higher learning are developing entire
programs devoted to the creation of bio-printed materials
to be used in future drug testing, medical research and
tissue and bone replacement.

Sources
Retrieved April 2014
Invetech World's First Bio-Printer
Live Science 3D Printed Embryonic Stem Cells
Miami CBS 3D Printer Could Make Human Body
Parts
ASME Bioengineering Valve Tissue
Cornell Bioengineers 3D Print Ear
Science Daily 3D Bio-Printing
Organovo TedMed Talk 2011