Though it takes just an instant for research to become a discovery, an apple falling from a tree;
A paper published on 11th October 2016, entitled Bio-printing of 3D Convoluted Renal Proximal Tubules
on Perfusable Chips, illustrates how 3D bio-printing has been used to create ‘proximal tubules’ (PTs) –
minute vessels found within the structure of human kidneys, as pictured below
a bolt of lighting;
the snap of a shutter, fully developed breakthroughs in science and medicine take years to perfect,
and what we read today, about Harvard material scientists’ developments in the
bioprinting of a kidney structure, is one small step closer to a future where organ transplant lists are a thing of the past.
A proximal tube (PT) is a smaller segment of a nephron – which make up the structure of a kidney in their millions.
Nephrons are what enables a kidney to filter and absorb nutrients from the blood.
How is it done?
Step 1: A PT structure is printed onto a glass slide (and it looks a lot like London’s River Thames)
Step 2: Then an extracellular matrix, matter that surrounds cells within the body, is injected on top of the river-like shape
Step 3: After this, the printed ‘river’ is removed to leave a hollow mold
Step 4: Living cells are injected into the mold which acts as a guideline for the structure of a proximal tube
Step 5: As the cells grow – or culture – they take on the characteristics of native PTs
and can be tested with substances such as new medicines.
Courtesy by 3D Printing Industry ( Giorgio Comerio )
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