BIOPRINTING
DEVELOPING ORGANS ON DEMAND
Innovators
Charles (Chuck) Hull
The stereolithography apparatus (SLA) was invented by an American engineer named Chuck Hull. The process itself is one of several that is used to create 3D-printed objects. It involves the use of a computer-controlled ultraviolet (UV) laser and platform, and a tank of liquid plastic called photopolymer. To begin, a thin layer of photopolymer is revealed on the platform and is hit by the UV laser. When hit by the light, the photopolymer hardens instantly, creating the first layer of the printed object. This process is repeated until the entire object has been formed. Once this occurs, the platform is brought up to reveal the 3D-printed object and is rinsed with chemicals to get rid of any excess resin. Finally, the printed object is placed in an ultraviolet oven and baked to cure the plastic.
The invention of this process serves as a breakthrough that shaped the world of manufacturing. People now consider Chuck Hull to be the father of 3D printing, which has evolved drastically from where it first started. Today, Chuck Hull serves as the co-founder, executive vice president and chief technology officer of 3D Systems, a company that engineers, manufactures and sells 3D printers.
Dr. Gabor Forgacs
Forgacs is considered to be the founder of scaffold-free bioprinting. Along with his team, Dr. Gabor Forgacs made the discovery that the cells of mammals could come together and construct collections with a controlled shape and size and that the interactions of these collections are similar to those between drops of liquid. Using this information, he worked to build the Novogen MMX, the first commercial bioprinter with a company called Organovo which he serves as the scientific founder of.
Organovo
"Organovo is an early-stage medical laboratory and research company which designs and develops functional, three-dimensional human tissue (also known as 3D bioprinting technology) for medical research and therapeutic applications." -I14
Founded in 2007 by father-and-son Gabor Forgacs and Andras Forgacs, Organovo is one of the leading researching companies in the field of bioprinting. Two years after they were founded, Organovo developed the Novogen MMX Bioprinter, the world's first commercial bioprinter.
Since they were founded, Organovo has played a big role in the advancement of technology and research in bioprinting. They have been able to successfully print human blood vessels without the use of scaffolds and is currently working towards printing the first functional synthetic kidney.
3D Systems
With its headquarters located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, 3D Systems is a company that engineers, produces and sells 3-D printers. As previously mentioned, Chuck Hull co-founded this company, and currently works as its chief technology officer (CTO).
By making 3-D printers available to the general public, the company allows for anyone to contribute research to the field of bioprinting.
Aether
Based in San Francisco, Aether is a private company that builds products that integrate hardware. It recently created a 3D printer called the Aether 1 that it says is “light years ahead of other 3D bioprinters on the market.” -I17 Stanford University's Center for Cancer Technology Excellence noticed the excellence of the Aether 1, and took interest in it. The two have entered a bioprinting collaboration to do research that will ultimately eliminate the need for animal testing. Specifically, they will be 3D printing tissue cells that will be test models for experimental drugs, rather than animals.
Daniel A. Grande, PhD
Working with the Orthopaedic Research at the Feinstein Institute, Dr. Grande performs research in the area of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. some of his early work includes using cell-based therapy to repair cartilage, also known as autologous chondrocyte transplantation.
Specifically, Dr. Grande's research is working to improve treatments for musculoskeletal system injuries, which includes cartilage regeneration and repair, meniscus repair, tendon repair, and bone fracture augmentation and fusion. Some of the ways that he anticipates to do so are by developing new cell-modified scaffolds that will magnify tendon repair and by using innovative methods to supply osteogenic and osteoconductive gene therapy.
So far, Dr. Grande has received a total of 9 awards and 8 patents for his work. Most recently, he was announced as one of the winners of a medical innovation contest in which he won $100,000 for his research.
Guohao Dai
Guohao Dai, an associate professor at Northeastern University, is accredited with creating a 3D bioprinter to make tissue cultures to be used in human disease modeling and drug discovery. One of his work's focus is to use gain insight on blood vessel regeneration and vascular disease.
The bioprinter that he created plays a big role in his research. It allows for live tissue to be printed, unlike a typical 3D printer. With his bioprinter, Dai is able to print tissue that has small passages that serve as blood vessels, which contributes to his research that may ultimately lead to his goal of providing a basis for developing new therapeutic methods of dealing with disorders related to the vascular system.
Pennsylvania State University
After creating synthetic cow cartilage out of plastic , Pennsylvania State is currently working on making cow cartilage with a new type of material- human cells.
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Penn State's methods of growing cartilage are different from previous methods in that they take strands of tissue and meld them together, while other methods involve sets of cells fixed in a hydrogel that is then used as a scaffold to grow the tissue. This method, however, should ideally be used to make less natural material, while Penn State's methods can be used to produce something close to what is found in our bodies.
