DocWire News Editors

DocwireNews

A group of Pennsylvania State University researchers have recently developed a unique 3D printing method to create tissue building blocks with micropores. Manufactured porous structures such as these allow both nutrients and other fluids to circulate and mark great potential for lab-generated tissues containing blood vessels.The team claims that the micropores in artificial tissues forming cartilage and bone allow oxygen and nutrient diffusion into the tissues core.&ldquo;Cells die if nutrients and oxygen can&rsquo;t get inside,&rdquo; said Ibrahim T. Ozbolat, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics. &ldquo;One of the problems with fabrication of tissues is that we can&rsquo;t make them large in size.&rdquo;In a process by which stem cells are 3D printed from human fat combined with sodium alginate porogens extracted from seaweed, the materials can generate tiny particles that leave behind pores in tissue once dissolved.<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/future-of-medicine-picks/michigan-researchers-use-3d-printing-to-aid-arthritis-patients-at-low-costs/">READ MORE:&nbsp;Michigan Researchers use 3D Printing to Aid Arthritis Patients at Low Costs</a>These researchers are generating tissue building blocks with unique micropores as an alternative to vascularization. If effective, this effort could help grow blood vessels within tissue. They have dubbed their product to be &ldquo;porous tissue strands.&rdquo;<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-4804718 aligncenter" src="https://mumcdnstorage.blob.core.windows.net/dwnews/2018/12/3d-porous.jpg" alt="3d printed" width="730" height="558">By using the mixture of stem cells, the researchers&rsquo; 3D printed strands of undifferentiated tissue. These tissue strands are 3D printed in layers on top and adjacent to one another to form a tissue patch. When exposed to a chemical solution, this patch converts the stem cells into specific cells such as bone or cartilage. These micropores that Ozbolat created allow the fluid to flow evenly to allow of the stem cells, yielding uniform distribution.Being that cartilage contains no blood vessels, porous structures can be created fairly easily to create implants with very natural porosity. At the moment only small patches can be made, however the researchers recently reported in Biofabrication that the synthesized strands maintained 25% porosity and pore connectivity of 85% for a minimum of three weeks.<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/future-of-medicine/cu-boulder-scientists-create-3d-printing-technique-to-make-blood-vessels/">READ MORE:&nbsp;CU Boulder Scientists Create 3D-Printing Technique to Make Blood Vessels</a>&ldquo;These patches can be implanted in bone or cartilage. They can be used for osteoarthritis, patches for plastic surgery such as the cartilage in the nasal septum, knee restoration, and other bone or cartilage defects.&rdquo;Ozbolat&rsquo;s research has great implications for bone and cartilage regeneration, and the researchers are considering using the technique to generate fat, muscle, and other tissue as well.Published in paper titled &ldquo;Porous tissue strands: avascular building blocks for scalable tissue fabrication,&rdquo; this research was conducted by Ozbolat and colleagues Yang Wu, Monika Hospodiuk, Hemanth Gudapati, Thomas Neuberger, Srinivas Koduru, Dino J. Ravnic, and Weijie Peng.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Our recent work on inducing pores in 3D scalable tissues, an alternative to vascularization!! <a href="https://t.co/kebYjSAqAQ">https://t.co/kebYjSAqAQ</a>
&mdash; Ozbolat Lab (@OzbolatLab) <a href="https://twitter.com/OzbolatLab/status/1075755402799792128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Sources: <a href="https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/penn-state-researchers-3d-print-porous-tissues-for-bone-and-cartilage-implants-146017/">3D Printing Industry</a>, <a href="https://3dprint.com/232407/penn-state-researchers-3d-print-porous-tissues/">3D Print</a>

Bradley Marder, MD

Joel M. Topf, MD, FACP

Gout Studies: Transplant Waitlisting and Bone Erosion

NKF Spring Clinical Meetings 2025

Jayme Locke, MD, MPH

The Promise of Xenotransplantation

Leah Lawrence

Real-World Data Backs Invasive DFS as Surrogate Endpoint for OS in EBC

HR Breast Cancer

Latest News

Penn State Researchers 3D Print Novel Porous Tissues

Future of Medicine

A group of Pennsylvania State University researchers have recently developed a unique 3D printing method to create tissue building blocks with micropores. Manufactured porous ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Advertising

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Contribute

Career Center

MashupMD

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

GU Oncology Now

Urban Health Today

Bile Duct Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Gastroesophageal Cancer

Gastric Cancer

GEP-NETs

GIST

Liver Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

GI Oncology Now

Anemia

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Essential Thrombocythemia

Hemophilia

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Myelofibrosis

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Polycythemia Vera

Pulmonary Embolism

Sickle Cell Disease

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombophilia

Thrombosis

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Venous Thromboembolism

von Willebrand Disease

Heme Today

Acute Kidney Injury

ADPKD

Anemia and Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease

COVID-19 and Kidney Disease

Diabetes and Hypertension

End-Stage Renal Disease

Gout

Hyperkalemia

IgAN

Kidney Transplantation

Metabolic Acidosis

Nephrology Times

HER2 Breast Cancer

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Genetics & Breast Cancer

Breast Cancers Today

Atherosclerotic Disease

Atrial Fibrillation

Heart Failure

Hypertension

Interventional Cardiology

Lipid Management

Practice Tips With Dr. Lichaa

Preventive Cardiology

Stroke

Cardiology

Breast Cancer

Gynecologic Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer

Skin Cancer

Oncology

Sleep

Urology

Diabetes

Ophthalmology

— Demodex Blepharitis

Neurology

Rheumatology

Gastroenterology

Pulmonology

Infectious Diseases

— HIV

Health and Wellness

Lupus

Orthopedics

Pharmacology

Career News

More

Conferences

CardioNerds

The Sleep Source With Dr. Morse

Rheumatology Rounds With Dr. Maheswaranathan

Partners

Expert Interviews

Subscribe