Lifeboat Foundation

Experts hope the technology could help patients with conditions such as diabetes.

ROCK HILL, South Carolina and REHOVOT, Israel , January 13, 2020 – Today, 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) and CollPlant Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: CLGN), announced signing a joint development agreement intended to play a pivotal role in advancing and accelerating breakthroughs in the biomedical industry. The collaboration brings together two industry pioneers—3D Systems, renowned for its 3D printing technologies and healthcare expertise; and CollPlant, the developer of proprietary recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) BioInk technology currently used for 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs. The two companies plan to jointly develop tissue and scaffold bioprinting processes for third party collaborators.

You might call it a giant leap for 3D bioprinting: Human heart cells have been 3D printed on the International Space Station (ISS) and are making their way back to Earth this week inside a SpaceX capsule. The 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) was developed by Techshot Inc., a commercial operator of microgravity research and manufacturing equipment, in partnership with nScrypt, a manufacturer of industrial 3D bioprinters and electronics printers.

“Our BFF has the potential to transform human healthcare in ways not previously possible,” said Techshot President and CEO John Vellinger.” We’re laying the foundation for an entire industry in space.”

If you’re wondering why they don’t just print the cells here on Earth, the answer is gravity. When attempting to print with soft, easily flowing biomaterials on Earth, the tissues collapse under their own weight, resulting in little more than a puddle, explained Techshot in a press release. “But when these same materials are used in the microgravity environment of space, the 3D-printed structures maintain their shapes.” The bio-ink used in the space station, consequently, did not contain the scaffolding materials or thickening agents normally required to resist the Earth’s gravitational pull.

Space launch startup Orbex has secured a customer for its forthcoming Prime space launch vehicle: TriSept, a provider of launch integration services for both commercial and government customers. TriSept has booked the full capacity of a rideshare mission aboard an Orbex Prime rocket to take off sometime in 2022, which should work schedule-wise, provided Orbex meets its target of flying its initial missions starting next year.

Orbex is leaning on 3D printing to expedite its launch vehicle production process, while also keeping costs low. The U.K.-based company is also in the process of working on final approvals and construction of a new spaceport in Sutherland, located in the Scottish highlands, which, when complete, will be the first mainland space launch facility in Europe.

TriSept, which provides launch management and brokerage services in addition to integration for payloads loaded into the launch vehicle, has been operating in the U.S. space market for years now, and it’ll also be setting up a full-time presence in the U.K. ahead of the Sutherland spaceport’s opening later this year, at Harwell Space Campus in Oxford.

In microbiology, an electroporator is a tool that allows scientists to apply electricity to a cell to temporarily breach its cell wall so you can introduce chemicals, drugs or DNA to the cell. These tools are extremely useful in the lab, but they’re also very expensive. They cost anywhere from roughly $3,000 to $10,000.

Researchers at Georgia Tech just revealed they’ve found a way to create an electroporator that costs next to nothing to make. Their research was just published in the journal PLOS Biology.

These researchers were able to create a version of the electroporator that can generate short bursts of more than 2,000 volts of electricity, which they named the “ElectroPen,” using a crystal from a common lighter, copper-plated wire, heat-shrinking wire insulator and aluminum tape. They then created a case for these components using a 3D printer. They claim you can assemble it within 15 minutes once you have all the pieces.

A team of Brazilian researchers have succesfully bioprinted tiny organoids that perform all of the human liver’s functions, Brazilian news service Agência FAPESP reports — functions including building proteins, storing vitamins and secreting bile.

The researchers had to cultivate and reprogram human stem cells, and then 3D print them in layers to form tissue.

While the “mini-livers” perform the functions of a liver, they’re unfortunately still a far cry from an actual full-scale liver.

A 3D-Bioplotter® was employed to 3D print (3DP) a humic acid-polyquaternium 10 (HA-PQ10) controlled release fixed dose combination (FDC) tablet comprising of the anti-HIV-1 drugs, efavirenz (EFV), tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC).

Chemical interactions, surface morphology and mechanical strength of the FDC were ascertained. In vitro drug release studies were conducted in biorelevant media followed by in vivo study in the large white pigs, in comparison with a market formulation, Atripla®. In vitro-in vivo correlation of results was undertaken.

EFV, TDF and FTC were successfully entrapped in the 24-layered rectangular prism-shaped 3DP FDC with a loading of ∼12.5 mg/6.3 mg/4 mg of EFV/TDF/FTC respectively per printed layer. Hydrogen bonding between the EFV/TDF/FTC and HA-PQ10 was detected which was indicative of possible drug solubility enhancement. The overall surface of the tablet exhibited a fibrilla structure and the 90° inner pattern was determined to be optimal for 3DP of the FDC. In vitro and in vivo d rug release profiles from the 3DP FDC demonstrated that intestinal-targeted and controlled drug release was achieved.

The new technology enables the printing of personalized medications out of hydrogel objects, producing complex structures which can expand, change shape and activate on a delayed schedule. By prescribing personalized medicines, doctors will be able to accurately tailor the exposure and dosage levels for individual patients.

“We now have the technology to replace standard or traditional formulations. The population is getting older so we need to think of solutions,” said Benny.

“We can now think about combining drugs together into one drug instead of ten, to adjust the kinetics of drugs and improve patient compliance in drug administration.”

3D printing drugs is driving the pharmaceutical industry towards personalized medicine. Let’s take a look at the most recent trends and developments.