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From plastic toys to living brain cells. Researchers from Melbourne have discovered new opportunities for 3D printing.
Scientists from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have successfully used 3D printing to create live neural networks from rat brain cells that develop and interact with each other, just like in a real brain. Research in this area can provide an alternative to animal testing and contribute to the development of personalized medicine.
Such mini-brains can become a substitute for animal testing in drug research, which has become especially relevant after the US Congress called on scientists to reduce the use of animals in scientific research.
3D printing technology provides scientists with the ability to grow cells in specific structures, simulating the actual organization of brain tissue. The experiment, led by Professor John Forsythe, was described in June in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. The Forsythe team printed the neural structures using "bio-ink" - a gel containing rat brain cells.
One of the main challenges was to create a gel that could be printed, but still retain the characteristics of the brain. Unlike plastics, which melt at high temperatures in conventional 3D printers, cells require a more delicate approach.
Despite the successful creation of neural networks from rat cells, medical applications will require proof of their effectiveness in human cells. The technology also faces the challenge of scaling, given that the human cortex contains about 16 billion neurons.
Among the team's immediate plans is to study the ability of printed neural networks to recover from damage. This can lead to the creation of personalized treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists also see the prospect of using 3D printing in hospitals to create models based on patient biopsies, which will allow individual treatment selection.
"We are getting closer to being able to conduct experiments without using animals in the most complex organ known to mankind – perhaps the most complex structure in the entire universe," said Moore.
Scientists from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have successfully used 3D printing to create live neural networks from rat brain cells that develop and interact with each other, just like in a real brain. Research in this area can provide an alternative to animal testing and contribute to the development of personalized medicine.
Such mini-brains can become a substitute for animal testing in drug research, which has become especially relevant after the US Congress called on scientists to reduce the use of animals in scientific research.
3D printing technology provides scientists with the ability to grow cells in specific structures, simulating the actual organization of brain tissue. The experiment, led by Professor John Forsythe, was described in June in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. The Forsythe team printed the neural structures using "bio-ink" - a gel containing rat brain cells.
One of the main challenges was to create a gel that could be printed, but still retain the characteristics of the brain. Unlike plastics, which melt at high temperatures in conventional 3D printers, cells require a more delicate approach.
Despite the successful creation of neural networks from rat cells, medical applications will require proof of their effectiveness in human cells. The technology also faces the challenge of scaling, given that the human cortex contains about 16 billion neurons.
Among the team's immediate plans is to study the ability of printed neural networks to recover from damage. This can lead to the creation of personalized treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists also see the prospect of using 3D printing in hospitals to create models based on patient biopsies, which will allow individual treatment selection.
"We are getting closer to being able to conduct experiments without using animals in the most complex organ known to mankind – perhaps the most complex structure in the entire universe," said Moore.
