Prellis Biologics Reaches Record Speed and Resolution in Viable 3D Printed Human Tissue

IMTS

Share this Article

Last year, startup Prellis Biologics made a big announcement: it had successfully 3D printed blood vessels, creating scaffolding that contained microvascular structures. The company is one of a growing list of organizations aiming for the goal of 3D printing transplantable, viable human organs, and it has now announced that it has gotten a step closer: it has reached record speed and resolution in printed human tissue with viable capillaries.

“A major goal in tissue engineering is to create viable human organs, but nobody could print tissue with the speed and resolution needed to form viable capillaries. At Prellis, we’ve now developed that technology, paving the way for important medical advances and, ultimately, functional organ replacements,” said Melanie Matheu, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Prellis Biologics.

Cells can only survive for a limited amount of time without a blood supply, so printing speed is critical when it comes to creating microvasculature and scaffolding for human tissue. Tissue that is densely packed with cells can survive for less than 30 minutes unless oxygen and nutrients can be immediately supplied through capillaries. Fine printing resolution is equally important, since capillaries are microscopic – about 5 to 10 microns in diameter. A human hair, in comparison, is 75 to 100 microns in diameter. Prellis Biologics’ holographic 3D printing technology can print as small as 0.5 microns.

Previously, it could take weeks or more to 3D print a centimeter cube of human tissue with microvasculature. Prellis Biologics can 3D print high-resolution tissue structures up to 1,000 times faster with vasculature in place.

“The speed we can achieve is limited only by the configuration of the optical system. We are now exploring custom optical system development, which will dramatically increase our capabilities,” said Dr. Matheu. “Our ultimate goal is to print the entire vascular system of a kidney in 12 hours or less.”

Typical extrusion-based bioprinting is too slow and too low in resolution to create capillaries and keep cells alive, so Prellis’ technology is quite revolutionary, enabling the creation of thick, functional tissue for drug and toxicology testing and even, eventually, human organs.

“Vasculature is a key feature of complex tissues and is essential for engineering tissue with therapeutic value. Prellis’ advancement represents a key milestone in the quest to engineer organs,” said Todd Huffman, CEO of dvanced digital tissue imaging and data analysis company 3Scan.

In the US, every day approximately 330 people die from organ failure. This number could be greatly reduced or even eliminated with 3D printed, transplantable organs, and there would be much less risk of rejection from those organs once they were transplanted. Many lives could be saved, and many, many others could be improved by eliminating the need for things like dialysis, oxygen tanks and daily insulin injections.

“Microvasculature is the fundamental architectural unit that supports advanced multicellular life and it therefore represents a crucial target for bottom-up human tissue engineering and regenerative medicine,” said Jordan Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University and an expert in 3D printed implantable biomaterial structures.

As bioprinting continues to advance and companies involved in this area continue to grow, innovations in tissue engineering will make more possible in saving and enhancing human lives.

Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com, or share your thoughts below.

[Images: Prellis Biologics]

 

Share this Article


Recent News

Liquid Metal 3D Printing Sector Emerges with Fluent Metal’s $5.5M Investment

3DPOD Episode 191: Amy Alexander, 3D Printing at the Mayo Clinic



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3DPOD Episode 190: Generative Design for 3D Printing with Novineer CEO Ali Tamijani

Ali Tamijani, a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has an extensive background in composites, tool pathing, and the development of functional 3D printed parts,...

Featured

3DPOD Episode 189: AMUG President Shannon VanDeren

Shannon VanDeren is a consultant in the 3D printing industry, focusing on implementation and integration for her company, Layered Manufacturing and Consulting. For nearly ten years, she has been involved...

3DPOD Episode 188: Clare Difazio of E3D – Growing the Industry, and Growing With the Industry

Clare DiFazio’s journey into the 3D printing industry was serendipitous, yet her involvement at critical moments has significantly influenced the sector. Her position as Head of Marketing & Product Strategy...

Featured

Printing Money Episode 15: 3D Printing Markets & Deals, with AM Research and AMPOWER

Printing Money returns with Episode 15! This month, NewCap Partners‘ Danny Piper is joined by Scott Dunham, Executive Vice President of Research at Additive Manufacturing (AM) Research, and Matthias Schmidt-Lehr,...