Over the past decade, 3D printing has allowed bioengineers to construct heart tissues and architecture. They want to improve in vitro platforms for discovering new heart disease treatments that kill one in five Americans. They created 3D printed heart tissues to determine which treatments work best for individual patients.
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) team describes their new fiber-infused gel (FIG) ink, a hydrogel ink reinforced with gelatin fibres, in an article published in Nature Materials. Because of this, a 3D printed heart ventricle has been created that is fully functioning and can even beat in sync with a human heart.
As the paper’s lead author and SEAS research associate, Suji Choi, says, “People have been trying to replicate organ structures and functions to test drug safety and efficacy to predict what might happen in the clinical setting.” The 3D form of the printed structure is preserved after the FIG ink has flowed through the printing nozzle. These features allow me to print intricate 3D forms like a ventricle without auxiliary scaffolding or support materials.
Working on the 3D Printed Heart
In an article published in Nature Materials, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) team describes their new fiber-infused gel (FIG) ink, a hydrogel ink reinforced with gelatin fibers.
As a result, it’s now possible to 3D print a working 3D printed heart ventricle that can even beat like a human heart. Choi claims that printing a ventricle-like structure with this ink eliminates the need for additional support materials or scaffolds because the ink can retain its 3D shape immediately after printing, thanks to the inclusion of the fibers. In addition, the group managed to manipulate the printing in a way that allowed them to influence the alignment of the heart muscle cells.
In response to the electrical stimulation, the muscle fibres contract in a synchronised wave, effectively pumping. Although this model is extremely reduced in size and complexity, scientists are working hard to develop more realistic heart tissues with stronger muscles. The 3D printed heart already pumps 5–210 times more fluid volume than prior 3D printed heart, paving the path for the construction of heart valves, dual-chambered tiny hearts, and other such devices.
What does the researcher have to say?
Choi used a rotary jet spinning method to develop the FIG ink, similar to how cotton candy is spun. Using this method, Choi and her colleagues created a fabric that looks very much like cotton. The next step was for her to utilise sonification to cut the sheet into fibres between 80 and 100 micrometers in length and 5 and 10 micrometers in diameter. She proceeded to mix the fibres with hydrogel ink.
Researchers found that cardiomyocytes aligned in the same direction as the fibres inside the FIG ink when they printed 2D and 3D structures. Choi influenced the alignment of heart muscle cells by altering the printing direction. She discovered that 3D-printed objects generated using FIG ink responded to electrical stimulation by contracting in unison along the path of the fibres.
The strength of the contractions within the ventricle-like formations was further enhanced as Choi and colleagues tried several printing orientations and ink formulations.
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Choi said, “Our ventricle model is simplified and miniaturized compared to the real heart.” Now, the group is focusing on creating cardiac tissues that are even more lifelike by having stronger muscle walls that can pump fluid more effectively. The 3D printed heart ventricle, while not as durable as genuine heart tissue, could pump anywhere from five to twenty times the volume of fluid as prior 3D printed heart chambers.
According to the researchers, heart valves, dual-chambered tiny hearts, and other cardiovascular structures may all be constructed using this method.
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