Print blood cells with 3D technology

Scientists hope a new technique for printing artificial blood cells will soon become an important tool to aid efforts to save lives.

Artificial blood cells play an enormous role in the development of artificial transplantation, where artificial organs are in short supply of blood vessels needed to function.

Designed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, the technology allows the printing of artificial biomolecules by 3D inkjet printers, which then use lasers to turn these molecules into vascular-like shapes. with artificial layers of two layers and can form a complex branching structure as usual.

"We are laying the groundwork for the rapid adoption of prototype of elastic and organic bio-materials ," said Gunter Tovar, project manager. "The blood vessel system that this technology delivers is great, but it's certainly not the only thing it can do ," he added.

Injections of blood cells may be the first step towards the development of artificial transplantation.

3D inkjet printers are capable of producing solid three-dimensional solids very quickly. It applies to materials that are clearly shaped in layers and chemically bound by ultraviolet radiation.

This has created very small structures, but 3D printing has not yet performed properly with the structure of the capillaries. This is why researchers need lasers. The laser beam acts and stimulates molecular bonding. This gives high accuracy. The blood vessels are then resilient and interact with the natural tissue.

The Fraunhofer Institute says the technology is still in the research phase. However, it will soon be put to use in life.