ITOP: A 3D bioprinter can produce human body parts

Scientists have transplanted living tissue constructed by a sophisticated and improved 3D printer. A challenge for tissue engineering is producing three-dimensional (3D), vascularized cellular constructs of clinically relevant size, shape and structural integrity. An integrated tissue–organ printer (ITOP) that can fabricate stable, human-scale tissue constructs of any shape. Mechanical stability is achieved by printing cell-laden hydrogels together with biodegradable polymers in integrated patterns and anchored on sacrificial hydrogels. The correct shape of the tissue construct is achieved by representing clinical imaging data as a computer model of the anatomical defect and translating the model into a program that controls the motions of the printer nozzles, which dispense cells to discrete locations. The incorporation of microchannels into the tissue constructs facilitates diffusion of nutrients to printed cells, thereby overcoming the diffusion limit of 100–200 μm for cell survival in engineered tissues. Future development of the ITOP is being directed to the production of tissues for human applications and to the building of more complex tissues and solid organs.

Ref: Hyun-Wook Kang et al., A 3D bioprinting system to produce human-scale tissue constructs with structural integrity, Nature Biotechnology (2016).

Doi:10.1038/nbt.3413