Today, March 16, the TASS news outlet, citing the press service of St. Petersburg State University, reported that Russian scientists, together with researchers from Germany, have managed to create a completely new technology that allows printing various types of implants from nanoparticles on an advanced 3D printer. .
“A team of scientists from St. Petersburg University, the Institute of Macromolecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Hannover have developed a new technology for 3D printing materials for tissue engineering by photocrosslinking nanoparticles. The development will allow reaching a new level of implantation, ”from the official statement of the press service.
Experts noted that at the moment, tissue engineering provides a wide range of opportunities for restoring all kinds of tissue defects in the human body – we are talking about muscle, nervous and connective tissues. In this area, advanced implants are used, which are created on the basis of combinations of stem cells from tissues taken from the patient himself and special materials. This is necessary in order to ensure three-dimensional cell growth, as a result of which it is possible to restore defective tissue. And, accordingly, with an accurate selection of the necessary elements, scientists can achieve a high level of biocompatibility between implants and the human body, so that they can be used not only to replace damaged tissues, but also for internal organs.
Russian scientists said that as part of their project they used a special suspension of nanoparticles, which made it possible to print scaffolds on an almost ordinary 3D printer. After that, tests were carried out on cells, which demonstrated the impressive mechanical strength of the resulting material and, most importantly, a high level of biocompatibility. Specialists noted that the use of nanoparticles has a number of advantages compared to more massive materials that are now actively used in transplantation. For example, nanoparticles make it possible to create unique structures capable of imitating complex biological tissues. We are talking about human bone, for example, which has a rather complex structure, or bone and cartilage tissues – they are necessary for recovery after a person has received an injury.