Summary of 3D PRINTED ORGAN-ON-CHIP
Harvard researchers developed a "heart-on-a-chip" using multimaterial 3D printing to integrate soft strain sensors directly into cardiac tissue. This automated process replaces complex lithography and animal testing, enabling easier drug studies and long-term monitoring of tissue contractility. The device utilizes six specialized inks made from piezo-resistive, high-conductance, and biocompatible materials to mimic native heart function without needing external microscopy for data collection.
Parts used in the Heart-on-a-Chip:
- Multimaterial 3D printer
- Six different specialized inks
- Piezo-resistive soft materials
- High-conductance soft materials
- Biocompatible soft materials
- Soft strain gauge sensors
- Cardiac microphysiological device
Researcher at Harvard University had been working to build new microphysiological systems (MPS), also known as organs-on-chips, that can mimic the operation of the structure and function of native tissue.
By developing such systems, they are replacing the conventional way of measuring and testing synthetic organs -usually by testing them first on animals.
Although such a solution can help in advancing research and making easy organ-replacement real, but it also somehow costly and considered as laborious.
To build up this system you need a clean room and you have to use a complex, multistep lithographic process. To collect data you also need microscopy or high-speed cameras. Considering also the fact that current MPS typically lack integrated sensors, researchers developed six different inks that integrated soft strain sensors within the micro-architecture of the tissue.
They combined all the steps in one automated procedure using 3D printer. The result was a cardiac microphysiological device — a heart on a chip — with integrated sensors. According to the research paper, these 6 inks were designed based on “piezo-resistive, high-conductance, and biocompatible soft materials that enable integration of soft strain gauge sensors within micro-architectures that guide the self-assembly of physio-mimetic laminar cardiac tissues”
You can check this video to see this heart in action, and to take a look at the 6 inks 3D printer.
Right now, researchers are testing their new heart-on-chip by performing drug studies and longer-term studies of gradual changes in the contractile stress of engineered cardiac tissues, which can take multiple weeks. This approach will make it much easier to test and measure the tissue contractile and its response to various chemicals like drugs and toxins.
This work was published in Nature Materials and the research was named “Instrumented cardiac microphysiological devices via multimaterial three-dimensional printing”.It was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, the US Army Research Laboratory and the US Army Research, and the Harvard University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).
Source: 3D PRINTED ORGAN-ON-CHIP
- What is the main purpose of the new heart-on-a-chip?
To mimic the structure and function of native cardiac tissue for drug studies and measuring contractile stress. - How did researchers solve the issue of lacking integrated sensors?
They developed six different inks that integrate soft strain sensors within the micro-architecture of the tissue. - Can this system replace animal testing?
Yes, it replaces the conventional way of testing synthetic organs by first testing them on animals. - What materials were used to create the six inks?
The inks are based on piezo-resistive, high-conductance, and biocompatible soft materials. - What process was used to build the system?
Researchers combined all steps into one automated procedure using a 3D printer. - Does this method require a clean room?
No, the automated 3D printing approach eliminates the need for a clean room and complex lithographic processes. - How long do the longer-term studies take?
These studies can take multiple weeks to observe gradual changes in contractile stress. - What kind of data does the device collect?
It measures tissue contractile response to various chemicals like drugs and toxins.
