A University at Buffalo-led research team is using a 3D printing method called stereolithography and jelly-like materials known as hydrogels to speed up and improve 3D printing. The work is a step toward 3D-printed tissues and organs.
The researchers say that the technology they have developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard, and it works with large sample sizes that have been very difficult to achieve previously.
The work is described in a study published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.
It centers on a 3D printing method called stereolithography and jelly-like materials known as hydrogels, which are used to create, among things, diapers, contact lenses and scaffolds in tissue engineering
This method allows for the rapid printing of centimeter-sized hydrogel models. It significantly reduces part deformation and cellular injuries caused by the prolonged exposure to the environmental stresses we commonly see in conventional 3D printing methods.
Researchers say the method is particularly suitable for printing cells with embedded blood vessel networks, a nascent technology expected to be a central part of the production of 3D-printed human tissue and organs — biotechnology that could eventually save countless lives lost due to the shortage of donor organs.
News source: University at Buffalo
