Science AMA Series: We 3D-print self-assembling blood vessels and create
human biological systems on a chip. Ask Us Anything!
Abstract
Hello Reddit! We’re Monica Moya and Elizabeth Wheeler from Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, and we’re using 3D bioprinting techniques
and special “bioink” to manufacture human-compatible tissues
vascularized with self-assembling vessels and capillaries. We’ve
engineered the printed tissue with human cells so that they grow toward
nutrients, harvesting the ability of the human body to respond and
develop complex vascular networks. This effort is part of a larger
research project aimed at replicating the human body on a miniature
scale, what we’re calling iCHIP (in vitro Chip-based Human
Investigational Platform). It includes research into recreating the
central and peripheral nervous systems, the blood-brain barrier, and the
heart. This is seriously a new frontier in biology. If we’re successful,
iCHIP could be used to develop new countermeasures against biological
agents without having to use human subjects. But in order to get the
various systems to work together properly, the “human on a chip” will
need adequate plumbing. It’s like a house with all these separate rooms,
and we’re the plumbers. We’re really excited about the work, and we’re
here to talk about it. Ask us anything! We will be back at 1 pm EST (10
am PST, 6 pm UTC) to answer your questions. Update, 9:45am PST Hey we
are just joining you now! Excited to see other geeking out with us about
our science! We will start answering questions shortly! Thanks everyone!
Update, 10:05am PST Here’s an article about our work:
https://www.llnl.gov/news/researchers-3d-print-living-blood-vessels. It
includes an animation that shows how the bioprinted vessels
self-assemble vascular networks. Update, 12:15pm PST Thanks everyone for
the great questions! Wish we could have answered all 300+ questions but
we have to get back to the lab and continue our exciting work! Thanks
again! Super exciting that our AMA made it to the front page of Reddit!
Monica Moya’s biography: Monica L. Moya is a Research Engineer at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Micro and Nano
Technology. She earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the
Illinois Institute of Technology in 2009. Her current research centers
around using 3D printing to print living vascular structures for neural
systems and tissue engineering applications. Select publications:
http://www.pubfacts.com/author/Monica+L+Moya. Elizabeth Wheeler’s
biography: Elizabeth Wheeler is a chemical engineer at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory and a principal investigator for iCHIP,
the In-vitro based Human Investigational Platform. She has expertise in
medical engineering, microfluidics and bioinstrumentation. Select
publications: http://www.pubfacts.com/author/Elizabeth+K+Wheeler.