Scientists have succeeded in creating an ink for printing living tissues without a toxic photosensitizer. Reported by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
In recent years, scientists have managed to “teach” 3D printers to print living materials and create living structures from cells. Potentially, with the help of this technology, it will be possible to create entire working organs, freeing transplantologists from dependence on donor material, but the technology is still in its infancy. Its major problem is the use of a toxic light-curing agent, which is necessary for the ink to transform into a solid material under the influence of light.
Now, Song Suchan and colleagues have developed a heat-sensitive bioink based on a polyorganophosphazene hydrogel. They do not require photocuring, after application, they must be heated to body temperature, followed by tissue regeneration, and then decomposed in the body after a certain period of time. They do not contain cytotoxic cross-linking agents, since the living tissues created from them cause minimal side effects during implantation.
During the experiment, the authors printed material for implantation into the damaged bone of a rat. While the cells themselves had to migrate through the animal’s bones, it contained only a scaffold, growth factors and excipients. As a result, cells from the surrounding tissue migrated to the scaffold and the defective bone returned to a healthy state. The implanted 3D scaffold disintegrated in the body within 42 days.
In the future, the authors hope to adapt this method for the restoration of other types of tissue in addition to bone.
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