Chinese Scientists Achieve Important Breakthrough In Bio-3D Printing Technology

Bio-3D printing is an emerging technology that uses 3D printers to print biomimetic tissue structures from bio-ink containing cells, growth factors and biomaterials, but it is still impossible to prepare complex tissues that have physiological functions and can survive for a long time.

A team from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University has broken through the technical bottleneck with a research study published in Bioactive Materials entitled: A multi-axis robot-based bioprinting system supporting natural cell function preservation and cardiac tissue fabrication.

The research team incorporated the design principles of a six-axis robot into the bio-3D printing technology. Because the six-axis robot has six freely rotating joints at 360°, the improved 3D printer can print cells at any angle in space, solving the problem that conventional techniques print cells layer by layer, resulting in a lack of organic integration of the cell and vascular network.

The researchers have designed a cyclic 'print-culture' protocol in which several layers of cells are printed on a vascular scaffold and then co-cultured for a period of time to induce physiologically functional intercellular connections and a new capillary network between the printed cells, before a new round of cell printing is carried out.

This approach ensures the long-term survival of the printed tissue. The project resulted in the development of cardiac muscle tissue with a capillary network that could survive in vitro and pace for more than six months.

This research has not only broken through a bottleneck in the development of existing technologies, but has also shed new light on research related to bio-3D printing technology.