South Korean research demonstrates Blu-Ray powered

micro 3D printing for cell scaffolds
getting pretty damn SMALL...ain't they?
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New research conducted by Korea Polytechnic University, and Gachon University in South Korea, demonstrates the use of a micro 3D printing technique for tissue engineering research. As a proof of concept, the researchers used Blu-Ray powered micro-stereolithography (MSTL) to make scaffolds suitable for the regeneration of bone cells.

3D design of the cell scaffold (left) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the 3D printed product. Image via Kim, Lee & Yun

The Blu-Ray MSTL process

MSTL is a high resolution 3D printing technique capable of making objects “that have feature sizes of tens to hundreds of micrometers.” To put this in perspective, these features can amount to sizes smaller than the diameter of a human hair, which typically measures around 50 micrometers (microns, μm). This resolution is ideal for application to cell scaffolds – the structures that support the growth of living tissue – as they replicate the microstructure of cells as they occur in the body.

A form of stereolithography, MSTL 3D printing uses a projector to cure materials into a solid object. In this research, the projector is powered using Blu-Ray technology.

Reducing the cost of bone surgery

The microscopic scaffolds, measuring just 4 × 4 × 4 mm with a pore size of 200 × 200 μm, are MSTL 3D printed in a biodegradable photopolymer. After post-curing the scaffolds are laced with stem cells that culture to form bone marrow.

The seeded scaffolds are placed in a bio-reactor for the growth and multiplication of the cells. Conditions inside the bioreactor mimic blood flow, and stimulate cell proliferation through the introduction of a magnetic field. By comparison to ‘static’ scaffold samples outside of the reactor, cells exposed to the magnetic field exhibited a much higher rate of proliferation after 1, 3 and 7 days of incubation.

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