At the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada researchers have developed and tested a new bio-ink that may serve as a critical building block for manufacturing replacement tissues and organs. The technology will hopefully speed up the quest to heal a great deal of conditions and diseases by implanting perfectly healthy body parts in place of faulty ones.
The bio-ink is made of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA), a hydrogel, laden with living cells. Though it can be molded into different shapes and even extruded through the working tip of a 3D printed head, because it can be produced in different way it can have different properties. Porcine skin is usually the source of GelMA, but the UBC also made it from cold-water fish skin and and cold-soluble gelatin, and tested each for different physical and biological characteristics.
The cold-soluble gelatin won over the other two varieties by being able to withstand temperature changes, maintaining the integrity of the living cells as well as the overall structure made from the material. Moreover, the droplets extruded through a 3D printer head could be generated with a more consistent uniformity. Combined, this allows the new formulation of GelMA to be used in a wider range of manufacturing applications that require different heat levels above room temperature.
Study in journal Biofabrication: Comparative study of gelatin methacrylate hydrogels from different sources for biofabrication applications…
Via: UBC…
