Using a 3D printer and a “bio-ink” made of materials compatible with the human body, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have successfully created structures with living cells and biomaterials. The material and environment are engineered to enable small blood vessels, including human capillaries, to develop on their own.
Initially, tubes are printed out of cells and other biomaterials to deliver essential nutrients to the surrounding printed environment. Eventually, the self-assembled capillaries are able to connect with the bio-printed tubes and deliver nutrients to the cells independently, allowing the structures to function like they do in the body.
Researchers say the precision and 3D structures made possible through bioprinting more effectively reproduce human physiology outside of the body, and will eventually lead to a better representation of each tissue system that makes up the human body.
Bioprinting complements a different Lab project aimed at replicating the body on a micro scale. That project, known as iCHIP (in vitro Chip-based Human Investigational Platform), re-creates and integrates the central and peripheral nervous systems, the blood-brain barrier and the heart.
