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Written By: Agencies | Published : June 1, 2014 2:02 PM IST
A study that appeared in the journal Lab on a Chip targeted one of the major challenges in building lab-grown organs out of a patient's own cells: making blood vessels to deliver necessary nutrients and dispose wastes from the system to keep the lab-grown organ functioning properly.
This obstacle may soon wither away as researchers have made significant headway towards fabricating blood vessels using a three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing technique. 'Creating artificial blood vessels remains a critical challenge in tissue engineering. We have attempted to address this challenge by offering a unique strategy for vascularisation of hydrogel constructs that combine advances in 3D bio-printing technology and bio-materials,' said Ali Khademhosseini from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in the US. (Read: Now, a new technology for 3D imaging of brain tumors)
The researchers first used a 3D bio-printer to make an agarose (naturally derived sugar-based molecule) fibre template to serve as a mould for the blood vessels. They then covered the mould with a gelatin-like substance called hydrogel, forming a cast over the mould which was then reinforced via photocrosslinks. 'Our approach involves the printing of agarose fibres that become the blood vessel channels. But what is unique about our approach is that the fibre templates we printed are strong enough that we can physically remove them to make the channels,' Khademhosseini added. (Read: Revealed surgery on weekends increases death risk)
Source IANS
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