China3D printingNet January 29th, from the Texas Tech University El Paso Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC El Paso) and the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) biomedical researchers are collaborating to usebiology3D printingTechnology development of artificial miniature hearts in space.
These heart tissue structures will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to gain insights into how microgravity affects the function of the human heart, especially in terms of the health of the heart atrophy.
The “artificial miniature heart” (also called cardiac organoid) will combine human stem cells and3D bioprintingTechnology made. The project started in September 2019 and will be carried out in the next three years. It is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the space station’s National Laboratory.El Paso Health Science Center
Scientist Dr. Munmun Chattopadhyay, researcher of the project, pointed out:
“The knowledge gained from this research can be used to develop technologies and treatment strategies to better combat the tissue atrophy experienced by ASTRONAUTS and open the door to improved methods for people with severe heart disease.”
The featured image shows the International Space Station. The picture comes from NASA.
How does microgravity affect our heart?
Researchers participating in the project include Dr. Chattopadhyay and Dr. Binata Joddar, a biomedical engineer at UTEP. Dr. Chattopadhyay is an assistant professor at the TTUHSC El Paso Key Research Center for Diabetes and Metabolism, which is part of the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Dr. Joddar is an assistant professor in the UTEP School of Engineering and leads the university’s research on inspiration materials and stem cell-based tissue engineering laboratories.
Researchers will work together to use human stem cells to perform small heart organoids3D bioprinting. These heart tissue structures will then be sent to the International Space Station, where they will be exposed to the nearly weightless environment of the orbiting space station. Researchers hope that this will give people a better understanding of heart atrophy, which is the reduction and weakening of heart tissue, which makes it difficult to pump blood to the body. This condition usually affects astronauts. These astronauts spend a long time in microgravity, which can cause serious problems because the weakened myocardium can cause such as syncope, arrhythmia, heart valve problems and even heart failure. symptom.
Heart atrophy and related diseases, heart fibrosis, except for weightlessnessastronautBesides, it is also a big problem on earth. People with diseases such as diabetes, muscular dystrophy and cancer, as well as people with diseases such as sepsis and congestive heart failure, often suffer from cardiac dysfunction and tissue damage. “
Image taken by Russian astronaut Aleksandr Samokutyaev from the International Space Station.Picture by Aleksandr Samokutyaev/Roscosmos
The first phase of the project will focus on research and design.At this stage of the first year, Dr. Jodard will use3D printingTo make heart organs. This will be achieved by coupling heart cells in physiological proportions to mimic heart tissue. In the second year, researchers will prepare for the launch of the robot and space flight. Once the organoids return to Earth, the third and final year of the project will focus on analyzing experimental data.
In addition, the projects of Dr. Chatopadhyay and Dr. Joddar will provide educational opportunities for the El Paso community. A workshop will be set up for K-12 students to attract local young people around the theme of tissue engineering, with an emphasis on projects on the space station. Seminars are also provided for medical students, interns, and residents to discuss the benefits and challenges of transitioning research from an earth laboratory to space.
On the International Space Stationbiology3D printing
The cooperative research project of TTUHSC El Paso and UTEP is one of the five research projects selected by NSF and ISS National Laboratory as part of the tissue engineering research cooperation in 2019. NSF awarded Dr. Chattopadhyay US$256,892 and Dr. Joddar US$259,350 in awards in recognition of their role in the project.
As companies and organizations seek to learn more about how spaceflight affects astronauts, much has been done on the International Space Station.3D bioprintingInvention project.
For example, the Russian biotechnology research laboratory 3D Bioprinting Solutions developed its Organ.Aut magnetic3D bioprintingAircraft to study how long-distance flights in outer space affect organisms. After a previous failed launch from the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft, it was transported to the International Space Station on the Soyuz MS-11 manned spacecraft in 2018.At the end of 2019, the company announced that it could use Organ.Aut to perform zero-gravity on skeletal tissue on the ISS.3D bioprinting. The experiment is part of a plan to create bone implants for astronaut transplants during long-term interplanetary expeditions.
3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) bioprinter. Take photos via Techshot.
In addition, from Florida3D printingSystem manufacturer nScrypt’s 3D biological manufacturing facility (BFF) bioprinter and space equipment developer Techshot are also on the International Space Station. The system was delivered to the International Space Station through the SpaceX CRS-18 cargo mission in 2019, and is capable of manufacturing human tissue under microgravity conditions. It is sent to the International Space Station to promote the creation of self-supporting organizations, which will provide more help for treatment methods.
China3D printingNet original article!
(Editor in charge: admin)
0 Comments for “El Paso scientists use biological 3D printing technology to develop artificial miniature hearts in space”