Introduction: There is an indispensable link in medical research, that is, animal experiments. According to incomplete statistics, millions of animals all over the world fall victim to scientific experiments every year. Although it sounds bloody, it is also a process that medical development must go through. However, with the development of 3D bioprinting technology in recent years, some bioprinted constructs are expected to achieve functional replacement of living tissue, and gradually achieve the purpose of replacing animal experiments.
△In 2014, about 400,000 mice died in the laboratory
18 February 2022 A European Union (EU)-funded project is looking to reduce animal testing in experimental medical research through 3D bioprinting. Coordinated by the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the BRIGHTER (Bioprinting by Photolithography: Complex Tissue Engineering at High Resolution and Speed) project is developing new novel approaches for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine 3D bioprinting processes to reduce the use of taxidermy in these areas. Of particular note, the project focuses on the fabrication of human skin using a novel bioprinting technique based on patterned laser light sheets.
Professor Elena Martinez, coordinator of the BRIGHTER project, said: "Our innovative 3D bioprinting system not only achieves tissue closer to the real thing, but is also much faster than current systems, an essential factor in ensuring the viability of new tissue."
△ A small square containing a matrix of skin cells. Photo via IBEC.
Reducing animal testing with 3D printing
3D bioprinting technology has advanced in leaps and bounds over the past decade, with major strides in developing viable patient-specific tissues. While these developments hold promise for future efficacy trials, the tissues are still largely experimental, and human drug trials are decades away. However, both academia and industry are working to change that, with Swedish bioprinter maker CELLINK pledging to advance its research into animal harmless cell test models and using miniature skin models at the University of Stuttgart to test the efficacy of cancer drugs with a view to Eliminate animal testing.
Elsewhere, Fluicell's Biopixlar platform has produced highly complex neural models that show potential for future clinical drug screening applications, while UpNano's NanoOne Bio system is focusing on the fabrication of cell culture microstructures that may have Helps reduce the number of animal experiments behind clinical trials.
△CELLINK has acquired in vitro technology specialist MatTek to create a harmless drug testing model. Photo via MatTek.
A more humane alternative to animal testing
In addition to IBEC, the Goethe University Frankfurt, the Technion Center in Israel and the biotechnology companies Mycronic and Cellendes are also participating in the BRIGHTER project. The program hopes to overcome many of the technical barriers that currently limit the fabrication of complex human tissue. The partners are collaborating on the development of a novel light-sheet bioprinting process capable of producing complex and accurate in vitro models that can be used for cosmetic and drug testing in the pharmaceutical industry and research settings. To fine-tune the technology, the BRIGHTER team is working to 3D print human skin, a highly complex tissue composed of multiple cell types and structures, such as sweat glands and hair follicles. Hydrogels will form a key component of the bioprinting process, as they form the basis for cells to grow and form new tissues, and they can also be personalized using a patient's own cells. To print skin with the desired structure, shape, and consistency, the researchers are using advanced imaging techniques that combine illumination from light sheets and high-resolution digital masks. By applying the laser directly to the hydrogel, the cells within it can be "patterned" and shaped into the right shape, allowing the team to control the stiffness, shape and size of the 3D printed structures.
The ability to shape hydrogels at a high level is especially critical for successfully printing human skin, because this tissue is made up of many layers of cells of different types. According to the BRIGHTER team, their bioprinting process was also able to create the blood vessels of the printed tissue and enable the function of sebaceous and sweat glands, as well as hair follicles to grow hair. Dr Nuria Torras, a postdoctoral researcher at IBEC, said: "We hope to be able to print a skin sample with an area of 1 square centimeter and a thickness of 1 mm in about 10 minutes with a cell viability rate of over 95 percent , greatly improving current bioprinting conditions. "The BRIGHTER project hopes that successful printing of the in vitro skin model will validate its potential for use in pharmaceutical and research settings, and ultimately reduce animal testing for drug and cosmetic testing.
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