TAGS: 3D Printing Medical Thermoplastic Composites
Prof. Dr. Leonid Ionov and his team at the University of Bayreuth have developed a new type of 3D printing technology. It combines hydrogels and fibers. The innovative process, combined in one device for the first time. It enables the production of constructs with fibrous structures and uniaxial cell alignment.
The research results are published in the journal "Advanced Healthcare Materials". It shows the potential for the artificial production of biological tissue.
Bioink and Fiber Composite Using Touch-spinning Process
In the latest study by prof Dr. Leonid Ionov, professor of Biofabrication, and his team at the University of Bayreuth, various types of hydrogels were extensively tested for the 3D printing of tissues. A hydrogel is a water-retaining and at the same time water-insoluble polymer. In addition, the cell containing-hydrogels, also known as bioink, are combined with fibers to create a composite material. This is achieved by using 3D (bio) printing with an integrated touch-spinning process.
Touch spinning is a scalable process for producing of fibers from a polymer solution or melt. The Bayreuth scientists have now combined 3D (bio) printing technology with touch-spinning technology in a single device for the first time.
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The insights gained in this study are of great importance for the production of tissues and in particular tissues with fibrous structures and uniaxial alignment of cells such as connective and muscle tissue," explains prof. Dr. Leonid Ionov.
In an article recently published in the journal "Advanced Healthcare Materials", the Bayreuth researchers prof. Dr. Dr. Elisabetta Ada Cavalcanti-Adam, chair of Cellular Biomechanics, prof. Dr. Leonid Ionov, professor of Biofabrication, Waseem Kitana, PhD student at the chair of Biofabrication, and their colleague Dr. Victoria Levario-Diaz from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, report on a novel approach for the production of multilayer bioink fiber composites.
Source: University of Bayreuth
