Researchers Modify 3D Printers for Cost-Effective Bioprinting with Varying Stiffness

Sep 22, 2024, 12:35 PM

Researchers have developed a method to modify commercially available 3D printers to create biological structures, significantly reducing the cost and complexity of bioprinting. This breakthrough allows for the production of living tissue constructs with varying stiffness, essential for replicating different types of tissue such as bone or muscle. The new technique combines direct ink writing with up-conversion particles-assisted photopolymerization, eliminating the need for support structures. Bio-engineers are also exploring the production of lung tissue in the lab, which could be used as a more accurate model to study human lungs or as potential material for implants.