Bioprinting has been gaining a lot of attention in recent years, from creating working models of eyes to bioprinting a brain tumour, the advantages of bioprinting cells, the avenue opens a whole lot of roads for the medical sciences.
A team of Canadian based researchers,
using a new laser technique,3d printed living, viable mouse brain cells in the lab
.
According to the research printed in the journal micromachines, most of the neurons,
specifically, posterior root ganglions survived for over two days after they were printed.
Printing out living neurons may stir up pictures of transplanting lost cells to recover brain diseases or neurodegenerative diseases,
However,
the researchers are looking to go a different way with their research.
Concordia graduate student and study co-author Hamid Orimi says in a press release
“In general people jump to conclusions when thinking of bioprinting ” human organ transplants are things we think of,
however, while this is long term objective, we are very far from that point,
But there are various ways to still use this technology.”
While the aim of this research is not neuron transplant,
There is still a use case in the research.
The team hopes that their 3D printed brain cells will help in the clinic by furthering medical research.
The research aim according to Orimi, is to swap animal models for new pharmaceutical tests by eventually printing and testing human neurons.
With this research, not only would we reduce the number of animals euthanized in experimentations, but it would also make preclinical research more precise-
experimental drug trials with this Bio-printed human tissue would give doctors a better idea on how well those drugs work than when it is tested on another species,
Treatments that work on one species don’t necessarily work as well on another.
Source: futurism, Micromachines
