"The technology we've developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard, and it works with large sample sizes that have been very difficult to achieve previously," says the study's co-lead author Ruogang Zhao, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering.
It centers on a 3D printing method called stereolithography and jelly-like materials known as hydrogels, which are used to create, among things, diapers, contact lenses and scaffolds in tissue engineering.
The latter application is particularly useful in 3D printing, and it's something the research team spent a major part of its effort optimizing to achieve its incredibly fast and accurate 3D printing technique.
"Our method allows for the rapid printing of centimeter-sized hydrogel models. It signi?cantly reduces part deformation and cellular injuries caused by the prolonged exposure to the environmental stresses you commonly see in conventional 3D printing methods," says the study's other co-lead author, Chi Zhou, PhD, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering.
Researchers say the method is particularly suitable for printing cells with embedded blood vessel networks, a nascent technology expected to be a central part of the production of 3D-printed human tissue and organs.
MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: University at Buffalo
