Spanish scientists make a 3D printer of human tissue
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We have demonstrated for the first time
that it is possible, through 3D painting techniques,
to create a tissue, skin in this case,
completely functional and therefore usable
for transplants into patients or in an industrial way
for drug or cosmetic product testing, etc.
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The bioprinter consists of three units.
One of them is the programmable computer,
which controls the bioprinter activity.
The second unit is where bio-inks are.
And the third one is the printing unit,
where bio-inks are put in an orderly way
to create the tissue.
Bio-inks are the equivalent
of coloured inks on an ordinary printer.
But, in this case, cartridges contain proteins,
cells and biological components which allow to create the tissue.
We have demonstrated that, with our system,
we make a correct and completely functional skin.
Now, all that remains for us is
getting the permits from the regulatory agencies,
either the Agencia Española del Medicamento
or the appropriate European agencies,
to be used both on human transplantation
and industrial uses.
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Looking ahead, what we are designing is
how to bioprint organs and more complex tissues.
At first our aim will be tissues with a cylindrical shape,
such as urethras or blood vessels.
And for the long term, we will be in a position
to print three-dimensional organs,
such as a heart, a pancreas, a liver, a kidney, etc.
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From the point of view of public institutions,
the participants have been the UC3M, the CIEMAT
and the Hospital Gregorio Marañón in Madrid,
and we have collaborated with a private company, Biodan.
We're still collaborating to develop even more sophisticated bioprinters
than the one we have.
In collaboration with: