Medical Manufacturing and Outsourcing Special Report - November 2021 - 29

" Importantly, our technique is
Study first author, PhD
versatile enough to use medical
grade materials off-the-shelf, "
he says. " It's extraordinary to
create such complex shapes
using a basic 'high school' grade
3D printer. That really lowers
the bar for entry into the field,
and brings us a significant
step closer to making tissue
engineering a medical reality. "
The research, published in
Advanced Materials Technologies,
was conducted at BioFab3D@
ACMD, a state-of-the-art
bioengineering research,
education, and training hub located
at St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne.
Co-author and associate professor
Claudia Di Bella, an orthopedic surgeon
at St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, says
the study showcases the possibilities
that open up when clinicians, engineers
and biomedical scientists come
together to address a clinical problem.
" A common problem faced by clinicians
is the inability to access technological
experimental solutions for the problems
they face daily, " Di Bella says.
" While a clinician is the best
professional to recognize a
problem and think about potential
solutions, biomedical engineers
can turn that idea into reality.
" Learning how to speak a common
language across engineering
and medicine is often an initial
barrier, but once this is overcome,
the possibilities are endless. "
Di Bella says clinicians, like surgeons,
are used to applying their manual
skills, as well as technical tools, to
" fix " a problem within the body.
" Bioengineering technologies can
significantly increase the armory
of options available to clinicians
and offer the possibility to address
problems never solved before,
as well as to give personalized,
patient-specific, solutions.
" This is an incredible step forward
in medicine and one that excites
patients and clinicians alike. "
Currently there are few treatment
options for people who lose a
A tiny and intricate biomedical structure created with the new
technique. (Credit: RMIT)
significant amount of bone or tissue
due to illness or injury, making it
common to use amputation or metal
implants. While a few clinical trials
of tissue engineering have been
conducted around the world, key
bioengineering challenges still need
to be addressed for 3D bioprinting
technology to become a standard
part of a surgeon's toolkit. In
orthopedics, a major sticking point is
the development of a bioscaffold that
works across both bone and cartilage.
" Our new method is so precise
we're creating specialized bone and
cartilage-growing microstructures in
a single bioscaffold, " O'Connell says.
" It's the surgical ideal - one
integrated scaffold that can support
both types of cells, to better replicate
the way the body works. "
Tests with human cells have shown
bioscaffolds built using the new method
are safe and nontoxic. The next steps
for the researchers will be testing
designs to optimize cell regeneration
and investigating the impact on cell
regrowth of different combinations
of biocompatible materials.
The new method - which researchers
have dubbed Negative
Embodied Sacrificial Template 3D
(NEST3D) printing - uses simple
PVA glue as the basis for the 3D
printed mold. Once the biocompatible
material injected into the mold has
set, the entire structure is placed in
water to dissolve the glue, leaving
just the cell-nurturing bioscaffold.
MEDICAL MANUFACTURING AND OUTSOURCING SPECIAL REPORT
researcher Stephanie Doyle, says
the method enabled researchers
to rapidly test combinations
of materials to identify those
most effective for cell growth.
" The advantage of our advanced
injection molding technique
is its versatility, " Doyle says.
" We can produce dozens of
trial bioscaffolds in a range of
materials - from biodegradable
polymers to hydrogels, silicones
and ceramics - without the
need for rigorous optimization
or specialist equipment.
" We're able to produce 3D structures
that can be just 200 µm across, the
width of four human hairs, and with
complexity that rivals that achievable
by light-based fabrication techniques.
" It could be a massive accelerator for
biofabrication and tissue engi -
neering research. "
The research was supported by the St.
Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Research
Endowment Fund, Victorian Medical
Research Acceleration Fund, NHMRCMRFF
Investigator Grant, and Australian
Technology Network of Universities
Industry Doctoral Training Centre.
ACMD's collaborative approach
brings together leading tertiary
institutions including RMIT University,
the University of Melbourne,
Swinburne University of Technology,
and the University of Wollongong,
research institutes and St. Vincent's
Hospital Melbourne, where the
center is based, to take on today's
toughest healthcare challenges.
" Printing between the lines: Intricate
biomaterial structures fabricated via
Negative Embodied Sacrificial Template
3D (NEST3D) Printing, " with
RMIT co-authors Dr Anita Quigley
and Professor Elena Pigorova, and
collaborators from University of
Melbourne (Dr Serena Duchi, Dr
Carmine Onofrillo), is published in
Advanced Materials Technologies
(DOI: 10.1002/admt.202100189).
This article was written by Gosia
Kaszubska, RMIT University. For more
information, visit www.rmit.edu.au.
NOVEMBER 2021 29
http://info.hotims.com/82499-24
Medical Manufacturing and Outsourcing Special Report - November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Medical Manufacturing and Outsourcing Special Report - November 2021
