Featured Research
from universities, journals, and other organizations
3-D bioprinting builds a better blood vessel
Date:
May 30, 2014
Source:
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Summary:
The
tangled highway of blood vessels that twists and turns inside our
bodies, delivering essential nutrients and disposing of hazardous waste
to keep our organs working properly has been a conundrum for scientists
trying to make artificial vessels from scratch. Now a team has made
headway in fabricating blood vessels using a three-dimensional
bioprinting technique.
Artificial
blood vessels are created using hydrogel constructs that combine
advances in 3-D bioprinting technology and biomaterials.
Credit: Image courtesy of Khademhosseini Lab
The
tangled highway of blood vessels that twists and turns inside our
bodies, delivering essential nutrients and disposing of hazardous waste
to keep our organs working properly has been a conundrum for scientists
trying to make artificial vessels from scratch. Now a team from Brigham
and Women's Hospital (BWH) has made headway in fabricating blood vessels
using a three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technique.
The study is published online this month in Lab on a Chip.
"Engineers have made incredible strides in making complex artificial tissues such as those of the heart, liver and lungs," said senior study author, Ali Khademhosseini, PhD, biomedical engineer, and director of the BWH Biomaterials Innovation Research Center. "However, creating artificial blood vessels remains a critical challenge in tissue engineering. We've attempted to address this challenge by offering a unique strategy for vascularization of hydrogel constructs that combine advances in 3D bioprinting technology and biomaterials."
The researchers first used a 3D bioprinter to make an agarose (naturally derived sugar-based molecule) fiber template to serve as the mold for the blood vessels. They then covered the mold with a gelatin-like substance called hydrogel, forming a cast over the mold which was then reinforced via photocrosslinks.
"Our approach involves the printing of agarose fibers that become the blood vessel channels. But what is unique about our approach is that the fiber templates we printed are strong enough that we can physically remove them to make the channels," said Khademhosseini. "This prevents having to dissolve these template layers, which may not be so good for the cells that are entrapped in the surrounding gel."
Khademhosseini and his team were able to construct microchannel networks exhibiting various architectural features. They were also able to successfully embed these functional and perfusable microchannels inside a wide range of commonly used hydrogels, such as methacrylated gelatin or poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels at different concentrations.
Methacrylated gelatin laden with cells, in particular, was used to show how their fabricated vascular networks functioned to improve mass transport, cellular viability and cellular differentiation. Moreover, successful formation of endothelial monolayers within the fabricated channels was achieved.
"In the future, 3D printing technology may be used to develop transplantable tissues customized to each patient's needs or be used outside the body to develop drugs that are safe and effective," said Khademhosseini.
"Engineers have made incredible strides in making complex artificial tissues such as those of the heart, liver and lungs," said senior study author, Ali Khademhosseini, PhD, biomedical engineer, and director of the BWH Biomaterials Innovation Research Center. "However, creating artificial blood vessels remains a critical challenge in tissue engineering. We've attempted to address this challenge by offering a unique strategy for vascularization of hydrogel constructs that combine advances in 3D bioprinting technology and biomaterials."
The researchers first used a 3D bioprinter to make an agarose (naturally derived sugar-based molecule) fiber template to serve as the mold for the blood vessels. They then covered the mold with a gelatin-like substance called hydrogel, forming a cast over the mold which was then reinforced via photocrosslinks.
"Our approach involves the printing of agarose fibers that become the blood vessel channels. But what is unique about our approach is that the fiber templates we printed are strong enough that we can physically remove them to make the channels," said Khademhosseini. "This prevents having to dissolve these template layers, which may not be so good for the cells that are entrapped in the surrounding gel."
Khademhosseini and his team were able to construct microchannel networks exhibiting various architectural features. They were also able to successfully embed these functional and perfusable microchannels inside a wide range of commonly used hydrogels, such as methacrylated gelatin or poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels at different concentrations.
Methacrylated gelatin laden with cells, in particular, was used to show how their fabricated vascular networks functioned to improve mass transport, cellular viability and cellular differentiation. Moreover, successful formation of endothelial monolayers within the fabricated channels was achieved.
"In the future, 3D printing technology may be used to develop transplantable tissues customized to each patient's needs or be used outside the body to develop drugs that are safe and effective," said Khademhosseini.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The above story is based on materials provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
- Luiz E. Bertassoni, Martina Cecconi, Vijayan Manoharan, Mehdi Nikkhah, Jesper Hjortnaes, Ana Luiza Cristino, Giada Barabaschi, Danilo Demarchi, Mehmet R. Dokmeci, Yunzhi Yang, Ali Khademhosseini. Hydrogel bioprinted microchannel networks for vascularization of tissue engineering constructs. Lab on a Chip, 2014; DOI: 10.1039/C4LC00030G
Cite This Page:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered