New 3D bioprinting method ‘facilitates creation of biological models’

US researchers have identified a new method of using off-the-shelf 3D printing technology to create materials for rebuilding the heart and other organs.

The Carnegie Mellon University team have used a new 3D bioprinting method to create models of hearts, arteries, bones and brains out of biological materials.

With this new method, it has been possible to take MRI images of coronary arteries and 3D images of embryonic hearts, before and bioprinting them in 3D with high-end resolution and quality out of soft materials such as collagens, alginates and fibrins.

Layer-by-layer printing methods have previously not worked with soft materials, but this new method uses a support bath material, allowing one gel to be printed inside another gel, allowing the researchers to accurately position the soft material as it is printed.

This could reduce reliance on expensive specialised 3D bioprinters that require specialised expertise to operate and allow consumer-level 3D printers to be utilised for a fraction of the price.

Adam Feinberg, an associate professor of materials science, engineering and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, said: "Not only is the cost low, but by using open-source software, we have access to fine-tune the print parameters, optimise what we're doing and maximise the quality of what we're printing."