The 3D printing also known as additive manufacturing (AM) has opened up new opportunities in healthcare, pharmaceutical research and biotechnology applications.
3D printing refers to processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object in which successive layers of material are formed under computer control to create an object. Objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and are produced using digital model data from a 3D model or another electronic data source such as an Additive Manufacturing File (AMF) file.
A printable organ is an artificially constructed device designed for organ replacement, produced using 3D printing techniques. The primary purpose of printable organs is in transplantation. Research is currently being conducted on artificial heart, kidney, and liver structures, as well as other major organs. For more complicated organs, such as the heart, smaller constructs such as heart valves have also been the subject of research. Some printed organs have already reached clinical implementation, and primarily include hollow structures such as the bladder, as well as vascular structures such as urine tubes.
3D printing allows for the layer-by-layer construction of a particular organ structure to form a cell scaffold. This can be followed by the process of cell seeding, in which cells of interest are pipetted directly onto the scaffold structure. Additionally, the process of integrating cells into the printable material itself, instead of performing seeding afterwards, has been explored.
3D printing for producing a cellular construct was first introduced in 2003, when Thomas Boland of Clemson University patented the use of inkjet printing for cells. This process utilized a modified spotting system for the deposition of cells into organized 3D matrices placed on a substrate.
Since Boland's initial findings, the 3D printing of biological structures, also known as bioprinting, has been further developed to encompass the production of tissue and organ structures, as opposed to cell matrices. Additionally, more techniques for printing, such as extrusion bioprinting, have been researched and subsequently introduced as a means of production.
Organ printing has been approached as a potential solution for the global shortage of donor organs. Organs that have been successfully printed and implemented in a clinical setting are either flat, such as skin, vascular, such as blood vessels, or hollow, such as the bladder. When artificial organs are prepared for transplantation, they are often produced with the recipient's own cells.
More complex organs, namely those that consist of solid cellular structures, are undergoing research; these organs include the heart, pancreas, and kidneys. Estimates for when such organs can be introduced as a viable medical treatment vary.
3D printed skin
A major area of study right now is 3D printed skin. Several companies and institutions have been in the news recently for their development of 3D printed human skin.
L’Oréal, a French cosmetics firm, Procter & Gamble, an American consumer-goods company, and BASF, a German chemical concern, are working on printing human skin. They propose to use it to test their products for adverse reactions. L’Oréal already grows about five square metres of skin a year using older and slower technology. Bioprinting will permit it to grow much more, and also allow different skin types and textures to be printed.
Printed skin might eventually be employed for grafts—repairing burns and ulcers. Plans are also afoot, as it were, to print skin directly onto the surface of the body. Renovacare, a firm in Pennsylvania, has developed a gun that will spray skin stem cells directly onto the wounds of burns victims. The suggestion is that the stem cells in question will come from the patient himself, meaning that there is no risk of his immune system rejecting the new tissue.
The BioDan Group, a bioengineering start-up focused on regenerative medicine, particularly for the skin. Their research has resulted in a wide range of applications from cosmetic testing to the treatment of burns and ulcers, and lately they’ve teamed up with the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), the Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT), and the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón to create a prototype for a 3D printer that can produce completely functional human skin.