3D printing of hair follicles

L'Oreal company intends to fight baldness with the help of additive technologies

news3dtoday based on L'Oreal: L'Oréal and Poietis sign an exclusive research partnership to develop bioprinting of hair

Assistance to the famous cosmetics manufacturer is provided by the French company Poietis, specializing in laser bioprinting. The partners do not promise quick results, but in the long term, a new method of restoring the hair cover is possible without transplanting plastic or the patient's own hair. The idea is to 3D print the hair follicles.

"If we manage to print hair bulbs, we will improve our understanding of biology and uncover some secrets related to the causes of hair growth and loss. Many people take alopecia very much to heart, and if we can find methods to effectively combat it, it will be a real revolution," said Jose Cotovio, director of Research and innovation at L'Oreal (in the picture on the left, next to him is Bruno Bernard, a specialist in trichology – VM).

The process considered by Poietis researchers begins with determining the places where new cells need to grow, and predicting the rate and nature of growth of biomaterials after implantation. Biochernils consisting of hydrogel and living cells are selectively applied to the surface, separating in the form of microdroplets from the initial substrate under the influence of short laser pulses. The printing speed is about 10000 microdrops per second. After building a new tissue, it takes a certain amount of time to mature before the follicles germinate.

Poietis has been engaged in bioprinting for quite a long time, and in the company's portfolio there are successfully grown samples of cartilaginous tissues one centimeter wide and half a millimeter thick, printed in about ten minutes each. Researchers rightly believe that printing bulbs will take more time and effort due to a more complex composition. "This is one of the most difficult bioprinting projects we have ever undertaken," admits Fabien Guillemot, director and Chief Scientist of Poietis (pictured right).

It seems that they are all personally interested in the success of the project :) – WM

Portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  06.10.2016