tissue engineering tagged posts

How to use glue and a high school 3D printer to create tiny implants for tissue engineering. Researchers have flipped traditional 3D printing to create some of the most intricate biomedical structures yet, advancing the development of new technologies for regrowing bones and tissue.

The emerging field of tissue engineering aims to harness the human body’s natural ability to heal itself, to rebuild bone and muscle lost to tumours or injuries.

A key focus for biomedical engineers has been the design and development of 3D printed scaffolds that can be implanted in the body to support cell regrowth.

But making these structures small and complex enough for cells to thrive remains a significant challenge.

Enter a RMIT University-led research team, collaborating with clinicians a...

Production of neocartilage tissues using primary chondrocytes

In an effort to develop a method for cartilage tissue engineering, Umeå Uni Sweden researchers have successfully used cartilage cells from cow knee joints. By creating a successful method with conditions conducive to growing healthy cartilage tissue, the findings could help lead to a new cure for osteoarthritis using stem cell-based tissue engineering.

Articular cartilage is tissue that is found on all the joint surfaces in the body. Since the tissue is not supplied with any blood vessels, it has a low self-repair capacity. Joint injuries and wear often damage cartilage tissue, leading to a condition called osteoarthritis. In 2012 in Sweden, 26.6% of all people aged 45 yrs or older were diagnosed with OA.

“There is currently no...

The protein/peptide system can grow on demand by simply displacing the interface. Credit: QMUL

Researchers have developed a way of assembling organic molecules into complex tubular tissue-like structures without the use of moulds or techniques like 3-D printing. The study describes how peptides and proteins can be used to create materials that exhibit dynamic behaviors found in biological tissues like growth, morphogenesis, and healing.

The method uses solutions of peptide and protein molecules that, upon touching each other, self-assemble to form a dynamic tissue at the point at which they meet. As the material assembles itself it can be easily guided to grow into complex shapes.

This discovery could lead to the engineering of tissues like veins, arteries, or even the blood-brain barrier,...