High resolution, multi-material deposition of tissue engineering scaffolds
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
The next generational change in health treatment will be the tailoring of artificial implants in combination with a patient's own cells to replace diseased or damaged tissues and organs. There will also be development in drug research through the creation of complex tissue models in vitro that mimic certain body systems. With these models we will be able to reduce the need for animal testing and provide a deeper understanding of the impact of drugs on cell function. To undertake these changes, one requires a fabrication technique that can accommodate a wider choice of biomaterials, combined with delivery of complexity in terms of feature size, structure and functionalities. This project aims to develop a new biomaterial fabrication technique which can process different material elements into a sizable scaffold in a controllable, scalable manner. The configuration will be tailored to fit the ultimate reaction kinetics of the biomaterial. This technique will exhibit (a) a sub-micron printing resolution of fibrous structures (vs. tens of micron of the existing 3-D printing), (b) ability to co-print both fibrous components and interstitial gel components, (c) suitability for scaled-up fabrication of a vast biomaterial library without needing to modify the native material chemistry. Ultimately, this new biomaterial fabrication technique will enable the reproducible, automated creation of multi-functional biomaterial scaffolds to support soft tissue regeneration. It is believed that the proposed technique will facilitate the fabrication of personalised scaffold parts, thus enabling more effective treatment available to the general public.
Planned Impact
Biomaterial-based tissue engineering has made significant impact on people's lives. Examples are as demonstrated with skin grafts for burn victims reducing scarring and improving healing, orthopaedic implants dramatically improving the mobility of patients, and tissue grafts for regenerating bladder functions. The global tissue engineering market is projected to be approximately £18 billion by 2020, which doubles the current (2014) market value of £9 billion. To improve the treatment outcome, and also to tackle difficult applications such as growing tissue organ transplants, innovation in tissue engineering has to be made. As stated in the EPSRC Healthcare grant challenges, enabling technologies for regenerative medicine, and patient specific treatment are two of the key areas where research inputs will generate significant impact. In this project, the technology developed will enable the deposition of a versatile range of biomaterials of mixed properties for personalised treatments. This capability is currently not adequately supported by existing fabrication technologies. The development of the proposed new biomaterial fabrication method will potentially open new avenues to tailored implants and the creation of more informative drug testing technologies. This will provide the next step change in current healthcare technologies.
For the ultimate implementation of the proposed instrumentation, its design concept will facilitate its use in a hospital setting. This attribute can greatly reduce the problems associated with preservation of the tissue scaffold from the manufacturing site to the point of use. The potential reduction in lead time will also add significant benefit to the treatment outcome.
In addition to its relevance to Healthcare, the proposed work will provide a new technology added to the existing repertoire of additive manufacturing methods. Currently, the global additive manufacturing market is valued at £1 billion per year. Among this, automotives accounts for the largest share of the market since end-products can be more conveniently produced. With new technologies developed, such as the one presented in this project, additive manufacturing will generate wider impacts in other industries such as electronics, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food. This sees the potential to have improved manufacturing processes which is low-waste, energy efficient and stream-lined. This will in turn lead to improved productivity, and more environmentally friendly productions.
For the ultimate implementation of the proposed instrumentation, its design concept will facilitate its use in a hospital setting. This attribute can greatly reduce the problems associated with preservation of the tissue scaffold from the manufacturing site to the point of use. The potential reduction in lead time will also add significant benefit to the treatment outcome.
In addition to its relevance to Healthcare, the proposed work will provide a new technology added to the existing repertoire of additive manufacturing methods. Currently, the global additive manufacturing market is valued at £1 billion per year. Among this, automotives accounts for the largest share of the market since end-products can be more conveniently produced. With new technologies developed, such as the one presented in this project, additive manufacturing will generate wider impacts in other industries such as electronics, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food. This sees the potential to have improved manufacturing processes which is low-waste, energy efficient and stream-lined. This will in turn lead to improved productivity, and more environmentally friendly productions.
People |
ORCID iD |
Yan Huang (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bertulli C
(2018)
Image-Assisted Microvessel-on-a-Chip Platform for Studying Cancer Cell Transendothelial Migration Dynamics.
in Scientific reports
Gill E
(2020)
Additive batch electrospinning patterning of tethered gelatin hydrogel fibres with swelling-induced fibre curling
in Additive Manufacturing
Gill EL
(2019)
Fabrication of Designable and Suspended Microfibers via Low-Voltage 3D Micropatterning.
in ACS applied materials & interfaces
Gill EL
(2018)
Multi-length scale bioprinting towards simulating microenvironmental cues.
in Bio-design and manufacturing
Description | A low voltage electrospinning mechanism, which can be adapted to a 3D printing platform. Batch processing can be performed instead of the conventional one by one process. |
Exploitation Route | Various collaborations have been established to further the use of the printing platform for organ on a chip production |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Electronics Energy Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | From capturing a person's breath to guiding biological cell movements, 3D printing of tiny, transparent conducting fibres could be used to make devices which can 'smell, hear and touch' - making it particularly useful for health monitoring, Internet of Things and biosensing applications. https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/3d-printed-invisible-fibres-can-sense-breath-sound-and-biological-cells |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Electronics,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | UK Parliament Post on '3D Bioprinting in Medicine' |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
Impact | Panel of experts for advising a white paper for the UK Parliament Post on '3D Bioprinting in Medicine' |
URL | https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0620/ |
Description | ERC Starting Grant (2017) |
Amount | € 1,480,000 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 12/2022 |
Description | Isaac Newton Trust Research Grant |
Amount | £40,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Isaac Newton Trust |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 02/2018 |
Description | EPSRC-first grant |
Organisation | University of Nottingham |
Department | School of Pharmacy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A technique, cEJW is being developed by my team to co-deposit a range of biomaterials, at a sub-micron resolution. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborator synthesizes materials with specific surface chemistry for tunable cell adhesion. My team is tuning the ink formulation of this materials to be deposited by the cEJW technique. |
Impact | The research is still being conducted. This research collaboration is multi-disciplinary, combining expertise in engineering and chemistry. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | MSC-topography response |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Medicine |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Using the cJEW biomaterials fabrication developed by my team, we create hierarchical structures to investigate the effect of matrix topography on mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. |
Collaborator Contribution | My collaborator specialises in mesenchymal stem cell biology, and is responsible for the cell culturing and evaluate the stem cell's differentiation. |
Impact | Experiments are still in progress. This collaboration is multi-disciplinary which consists of expertise in stem cell biology and bioengineering. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Pittsburgh decellularised matrix |
Organisation | University of Pittsburgh |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A new biofabrication method, based on the continuous electrojetting mechanism, was developed by my team to construct basement membrane like structures. This method is instrumental in incorporating decellularised matrices to produce more biologically relevant, artificial basement membranes. |
Collaborator Contribution | My partners provides the decellularised matrices (dECM) extracted from small intestines and bladders. |
Impact | This work has started since Sep 2015, when the materials transfer agreements were completed and the materials were delivered. Our results successfully demonstrated that the collagen (as a model for dECM) can form a membrane structure to support endothelial layer formation. We are now working on using the dECM to demonstrate a similar membrane structure. The collaboration is multi-disciplinary, crossing fields of engineering, physics, biology and medicine. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | 3D Printing Conference (Maastrict) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | New 3D fibre making technology was displayed at the conference, attracted interests from both the academic community as well as the industrial |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.3dbioprintingconference.com/program/ |
Description | Homerton College Open Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Between 20-40 pupils attended for a school visit to the talk on Bioengineering, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards, and the school reported increased interest in related subject areas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
Description | Interview with 3DMedNet |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Give opinion to the 3D bioprinting network |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.3dmednet.com/users/24427-freya-leask/videos/15549-video1 |
Description | Summer placement schemes |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | I participate in summer placement schemes for undergraduate students every year since the start of my independent research. These are through schemes such as UROP, and IOP top 50 placements. These schemes are valuable for undergraduate students to get a first hand on experience of research experience, and to spark their interest for further research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
Description | Turin - Organoids workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Supporters |
Results and Impact | Delivered a speech at the workshop 'Enabling Technologies in 3D Cancer Organoids' as part of the 'Torino Donna just the woman I am' Day. The event was taken place between 8th-9th March 2016. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.torinodonna.it/workshop/ |
Description | Youtube podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | A youtube channel was setup to share research videos with general audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kax_0Xd63cA |