German scientists from the University of Heidelberg have developed a new way to grow complex organoids (living replicas of internal organs for experimental purposes). The method will allow for the creation of more complex biological objects. The research was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Nanotechnology (NatNanotech).
The technology is based on microbeads composed of specially folded DNA that are used to release growth factors and other signaling molecules within tissue structures.
An interdisciplinary research team of biologists, physicians, physicists, and materials scientists has designed microscopically small spheres of DNA that can be “loaded” with proteins or other molecules.
These microbeads are injected into organoids and release their payload when exposed to UV light.
The researchers tested the process on retinal organoids of the Japanese orysia fish, precisely inserting microbeads containing the Wnt signaling molecule into the tissue.
For the first time, scientists have succeeded in forcing cells in the outer layer of the retina to grow alongside the eye’s nerve tissues.
According to experts, DNA microbeads can be flexibly adapted to carry many different signaling molecules in different cultured tissue types.
Scientists have previously discovered for the first time Successful create a mini brain with a blood-brain barrier.
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Source: Gazeta
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