LATEST ON BIO-INKJET PRINTERS

Bio-Inkjet Printer Draws Muscle and Bone
There
are many things we’ve come to expect from our computer printers:
photos, letters, greeting cards, maybe even glowing wallpaper someday.
But muscle and bone? You wouldn’t have gone there until this week, when
scientists at Carnegie Mellon announced they have developed a printer
that outputs in “bio-ink”—a format they hope will pave the way for
important organization and growth of stem cells.In development for the
past eight years, the printer is similar to a conventional ink jet, but
with a custom-built nozzle designed to print patterns more accurately.
The machine prints in bio-ink, solutions of hormones that alter cell
behavior,  to create a blueprint for cells to grow and differentiate
into the various types that scientists want to create, according to Dr.
Julie A. Phillippi. She has worked on the project for about a year and
a half.“We loaded the bio-inks and  then printed square patterns of the
bone bio-ink on a glass slide,” says Phillippi. “Then we placed the
slide with the patterns in a dish with muscle-derived stem cells from
adult mice. The cells growing on the bone bio-ink pattern began to
exhibit characteristics of bone-like cells, and cells outside the
pattern began to look like muscle cells.”The scientists use a software
program, designed in-house, to create the patterns. “The inkjet is
ideal for what we’re trying to do because it allows for precise control
over size, shape and concentration of the bio-ink patterns,” says
Phillippi. The team is currently developing a 3D printer that consists
of multiple print heads and delivers gel-like proteins as well as
growth factors to build 3D patterns layer-by-layer.The printed bio-ink
patterns have applications in tissue regeneration, Phillippi insists,
including using adult stem cells to treat tissue defects. “Through such
a patterning approach, our vision is to heal patients with defects that
span multiple tissue types using the patient’s own stem cells,” she
says.