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Third dimension for cell cultures: high-precision 3D printing enables biocompatible microstructures
New printing material from Nanoscribe is suitable for 3D microfabrication of delicate and low-fluorescent structures for tissue engineering.
Nanoscribe presents IP-Visio, a new printing material for life science applications. The material is not cytotoxic, extremely little fluorescent and designed for the production of biocompatible microstructures. With IP-Visio, Nanoscribes 3D printers can produce the complex and filigree microstructures that are required for three-dimensional cell cultures and in tissue engineering. The product will be presented in San Francisco at the leading conferences SPIE BiOS and Photonics West in biomedical optics and photonics.
2D cell culture systems have been a standard for many applications for decades, ranging from stem cell research and drug screening to regenerative medicine. However, cells interact with neighboring cells, the extracellular matrix and surrounding molecules in 3D. Nanoscribe’s 3D microfabrication has already been able to demonstrate in many cases how well this technology is suitable for producing high-precision three-dimensional microstructures, such as those required for three-dimensional cell frameworks. The company is now setting another milestone and is presenting IP-Visio, a new printing material for biocompatible 3D microstructures.
Biocompatibility and low autofluorescence
The media is non-cytotoxic according to ISO 10993-5. This makes IP-Visio suitable for cell-friendly 3D scaffolds. This material can be used to produce high-precision microstructures to imitate realistic and high-precision cell environments. An example of an application is multi-cell scaffold structures, which serve as three-dimensional support material for sowing and examining cells. In addition, IP-Visio shows very low auto fluorescence. This property enables a clear view through the printed structures. Scientists can analyze cellular proteins and processes using fluorescence microscopy methods without affecting the printed cell structure.
3D microfabrication opens up new life science applications
3D printing technology from Nanoscribe offers numerous options for creating 3D microenvironments that resemble the natural living conditions of cells known in the human body. The technology enables the direct production of complicated 3D microstructures with excellent dimensional accuracy, which leads to pioneering work in 3D cell frameworks. Research results have been published, for example, on retinal tissue engineering, cancer research and the first 3D-printed blood-brain barrier model for drug screening. At SPIE BiOS (Stand 8256) and Photo-nics West (Hall E, Stand 3254) Nanoscribe presents the new material with 3D-printed microstructures.
You can read this article further in our journal Innovation and Technology issue 4/2020.
