American Process, Swansea University Partner to Develop Bioprinting for Reconstructive Surgery

The human face is a marvel of evolution. It can covey volumes of information without a word being spoken. Much of human identity is wound up in our faces, and the face has been celebrated in art for millennia. All of that makes facial injuries that much more devastating.

For most of recorded history, those with serious facial injuries have felt the need to cover up their faces with masks, or bear the brunt of unwelcome stares when they venture out into public. More recently, plastic surgery and advances in prosthetics have made at least partial reconstruction possible. American Process and Swansea University Medical School have entered into a joint agreement to develop new procedures for facial reconstructive surgery based on nanocellulose and 3D printing.

Nanocellulose is a biomaterial generated from wood. Previous research by Swansea’s ReconRegen group has shown nanocellulose is both compatible with human cells, and works well as a tissue support structure. Most importantly, for future research purposes, nanocellulose is hardy enough to survive 3D printing.

The joint research will attempt to use a mix of human cells and nanocellulose to build scaffold material, which will be 3D printed into tissues as part of reconstructive surgery. This would allow doctors to build new tissue for their patients that has been customized to fit with their appearance, while retaining enough durability to resist degradation.

“3D printing is increasingly used to manufacture prosthetics and implants from materials like plastic or titanium,” said Iain Whitaker, project leader. “But bio-printing – using human cells instead of man-made material – is a promising new science. We are printing living tissues, living structures, tailored to the needs of individual patients. We hope that in the future, patients who have lost all or part of their ear or nose through trauma or cancer could have reconstruction using new tissue which is grown from their own cells using nanocellulose.”

Nanocellulose has a number of properties that make it ideal for use as a bio-ink. As might be expected from a material based on wood, nanocellulose holds water well, and dries to a smooth finish. Although it’s crude imagery, imagine working with papier-mâché to build an object. Like papier-mâché, nanocellulose is easy to work with in the wet, gel form used for 3D printing, and holds the shape of a print when deposited.

Below you’ll find a video about nanocellulose.

Source: PRWeb