In January 2020, the US microgravity equipment manufacturer Techshot’s3D bioprintingThe aircraft successfully printed a large number of human heart cells at the US National Laboratory on the International Space Station, completing the first step of its goal to manufacture human organs such as the heart and lungs in space.
3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF, 3D BioFabrication Facility), which aims to manufacture human tissues in space (Photo: Techshot Inc.)
The official name of the device is:
3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF, 3D BioFabrication Facility), by Techshot and3D bioprintingThe machine and electronic printer manufacturer nScrypt cooperated to develop, and took the SpaceX CRS-18 to the International Space Station in July 2019.
Techshot plans to start by manufacturing the simplest human tissues such as heart patches, and gradually increase the complexity, and finally realize the manufacture of complete human organs in space and use them for ground human organ transplantation to alleviate the problem of organ shortage.
Astronaut Drew Morgan and BFF on the International Space Station
With the improvement of organ transplantation technology and the continuous improvement of surgical success rate, organ transplantation has become an important means for patients with organ damage to continue their lives and restore their health. However, in many countries, the number of patients waiting for organ transplantation is far greater than the number of organ donors. In the United States alone, an average of 20 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant. Patients who are fortunate enough to wait for a suitable organ and have a successful transplant also need long-term medication to overcome postoperative rejection. Therefore, realizing the “replication” of organs has always been the dream of the medical profession.
3D bioprintingIt uses human cells, biological hormones, growth factors and other substances as “ink”, using3D printingTechnology to construct human tissues and organs with biological functions, such as skin, cartilage, kidney, heart, etc. Because the patient’s own cells are used as the “raw material”, rejection reactions can be completely avoided.Since 2010, the world’s first bioprinter used human cells to create the first blood vessel. Scientists around the world have been working on artificial blood vessels, cartilage tissue, kidney, liver, skin and other organs.3D printingVarious degrees of progress have been made in the field. Especially in 2019, scientists at Tviraf University in Israel printed a reduced version of a 3D heart. This heart not only has ventricles, atria, and large blood vessels similar to the human heart, but it can also “beat” autonomously. However, some small and complex structures such as capillaries cannot be realized at present, so there is still a big gap between the real application of human organ transplantation.
The heart in printing (Image source: Tel Aviv University)
As normal3D printingmachine,3D bioprintingThe machine generates three-dimensional structures by successively stacking “biological ink” containing human cells, layer by layer, and these structures require support or scaffolding to form the desired shape. In the ground gravity environment,3D bioprintingIt is often necessary to use relatively viscous bio-inks to provide structural support. In addition to biological materials such as human cells, hormones, growth factors, etc., which are needed to create organs, these bio-inks usually also add some scaffolding materials or thickeners. As a result, the viscosity of the ink is very high, which limits the use of high-precision print heads and cannot be used to print some of the smallest and most complex structures, such as capillaries in human organs.
When organs or tissues are printed in a microgravity environment in space, the printed 3D structure will maintain its shape without the need for support or scaffolding. Therefore, it is possible to use low-viscosity inks and finer print heads to accurately “replicate” some of the tiny fine structures in human organs. Once these structures are printed, they will be placed in a cell culture system. After a period of culture, the connection between the cells will gradually increase until the formation of active and self-supporting organs and tissues, even if they return to the ground gravity environment , They can also maintain their original shape.Therefore, the space microgravity environment can achieve more accurate3D bioprinting, To provide a more ideal environment for manufacturing heart, lungs and other human organs.
Due to the microgravity environment in space3D bioprintingWith the broad application prospects in the field of human organ manufacturing, many teams in the world have joined the space3D bioprintingcompetition.
As early as June 2016, Techshot used nScrypt3D printingAircraft and Bioficial Organs’ bio-inks have carried out zero gravity on high-performance weightless aircraft.3D bioprintingIn the experiment, human heart stem cells were used to complete the printing of the heart and blood vessel structure; in July 2019, the 3D biological manufacturing equipment BFF was launched to the International Space Station; in January 2020, BFF launched an experiment to print human heart cells.
On a weightless plane3D bioprintingmachine
In December 2018, Russian medical company Invitro used magnetic3D bioprintingOrganaut successfully printed mouse thyroid and cartilage tissue on the International Space Station. This is the first time that humans have been in space.3D printingOut of biological organs and tissues.
magnetic3D bioprintingOrganaut
In July 2019, the Dresden University of Technology in Germany developed a3D bioprintingIn this way, astronauts can print skin cells or bone stem cells based on plasma.
Japan has adopted another method to participate in the competition of human organ manufacturing in space: first cultivate IPS cells (reprogrammed pluripotent stem cells) into organ primordia, and then differentiate them into human organs. This technology will be tested in the KIBO capsule of the International Space Station in the fall of 2020.
(Editor in charge: admin)
0 Comments for “Space station 3D bioprinting: opening the way to create a “heart” in space”