A group of researchers from the UK have used 3-D biomedical printing
to successfully print new eye cells, making it the first time the
technology has been used successfully to print mature central nervous
system cells. The breakthrough could lead to the production of
artificial tissue grafts made from the variety of cells found in the
human retina and may aid in the search to cure blindness.
Experts at the University of Cambridge printed two types of cells –
ganglion cells and glial cells – derived from adult rat retinas.
Ganglion cells transmit information from the eye to parts of the brain,
while glial cells provide support and protection for neurons.
Co-authors of the study Professor Keith Martin and Dr Barbara Lorber,
from the John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of
Cambridge, said: “The loss of nerve cells in the retina is a feature of
many blinding eye diseases. The retina is an exquisitely organised
structure where the precise arrangement of cells in relation to one
another is critical for effective visual function”.
The ability to arrange cells into highly defined patterns and
structures has recently elevated the use of 3D printing in the
biomedical sciences to create cell-based structures for use in
regenerative medicine.
In their study, the researchers used a single nozzle piezoelectric
inkjet printer that ejected the cells through a sub-millimetre diameter
nozzle when a specific electrical pulse was applied.
The driving waveform was defined by a PC-driven generator. “We plan
to extend this study to print other cells of the retina and to
investigate if light-sensitive photoreceptors can be successfully
printed using inkjet technology.
In addition, we would like to further develop our printing process to
be suitable for commercial, multi-nozzle print heads,” Professor Martin
concluded. His goal is to make living tissues using multiple nozzles so
that different types of cells could be printed from different nozzles
at the same time. – imaginethat-3d.com
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