Revolutionary Breakthrough: How 3D Ice Printing is Crafting Lifelike Blood Vessels for Engineered Tissue! 

By: Mittal M. 14 Feb, 24

Published on : Vigyan Corner

Quick Overview 

Current studies investigate the creation of blood vessel-like structures for drug testing and artificial organs using 3D ice printing.

Approach

This novel approach was developed under the direction of Carnegie Mellon University graduate student Feimo Yang.

What's new in this method 

Their method, in contrast to conventional 3D printing, keeps a liquid phase of water on top, guaranteeing a smoother structure devoid of the usual layering effects.

Major Hurdle

One major hurdle in tissue engineering is replicating the blood vascular network in order to bridge the gap between organ supply and demand.

The Process

By increasing the freezing point, deuterium-containing heavy water is used in the process to improve structure smoothness.

Realistic Blood Arterty

The process involves creating ice templates embedded in GelMA, a gelatin substance, and solidifying them under UV light to create realistic blood artery channels.

Mimic Action

These artificial blood vessels effectively receive endothelial cells, which mimic those seen in real blood arteries and live there for up to two weeks.

Research Patent

Beyond organ transplants, there are other possible uses, such as researching patient-specific cell reactions to therapies and testing drugs on blood arteries.

Potential Use

The creation of more realistic blood vessel networks with this technology has the potential to advance tissue engineering.