Why in zero gravity?
Why print human cartilage in space
Igor Zalyubovin, "Snob"
In space, human tissue was printed for the first time – on a 3D bioprinter "Organaut". This is a joint project of Invitro, 3D Bioprinting Solutions and Roscosmos with the support of the Skolkovo Foundation and the first experiment in orbit initiated by a Russian private company. A similar project is going to be launched in the USA in February next year. One of the developers of the 3D printer, Youssef Hesuani, managing partner of 3D Bioprinting Solutions, told the "Snob" why to print cartilage in space and what to do with them after returning to Earth.
Photo: Invitro press service
– Why was it so important to conduct this experiment in space?
– We use microgravity conditions to print fabrics. There is a classic additive 3D printing, in which we create objects in layers. And there is another technology called formative production. With it, objects are created simultaneously from different sides, by analogy with modeling a snowball. Magnetic waves are used for this: we create a magnetic field of a given shape, and the cells do not touch any surface, they levitate in the liquid without interacting with the substrate. They do not come into contact with the walls of the laboratory dishes, with the cuvette, only with each other. On Earth, they would try to fall all the time, but in space conditions they hang in space. The point is that with layer-by-layer printing, cells are formed on a frame, and formative production allows you to create fabrics using only cellular material, without a frame.
– What is the benefit of this experiment?
– We will be able to create more complex structures from organs and use this technology both for transplantation and for further study. And besides, to study the effect of cosmic radiation on printed fabrics.
– How much did it cost to launch the project from the ISS?
– Together with Roscosmos, we developed a special regulation that prescribed rules for cooperation between small investment enterprises and state-owned companies. There were two options: the first, when you conduct an experiment for free, but the actual implementation time reaches 6-8 years, and in this case it is difficult to talk about the novelty of the idea, the second option is commercial, when you fully pay for the ascent, descent, the work of astronauts and everything else. We went the third way, persuading colleagues from Roscosmos to co-finance: we paid only for the installation of equipment on board. These are small expenses that small companies can afford, but I cannot name a specific amount under the contract. I will say that it is much cheaper than classic commercial experiments, which cost several million dollars – for us it is unaffordable money.
– Why were human cartilage tissue and mouse thyroid gland chosen for printing?
– We use new technologies, and the results had to be compared with something. We used cells printed on additive bioprinters in our laboratories. In 2015, we published a paper on the replacement of thyroid tissue in a mouse, and recently we published an article on the cultivation of human cartilage. These are materials that we have studied well, so that the experiment was not a "thing in itself", the choice fell on these fabrics.
– Earlier, on October 11, you already tried to send a printer into space. But then there was an accident. What happened to this printer?
– That bioprinter is still in working condition, it is in our laboratory. GoPro cameras with special lenses on which we shoot everything, memory cards and all but one cuvettes with biomaterial have crashed. In the only cell that did not break, the cells died anyway – due to severe overloads during the fall. The frame of the printer also flew off – and now the laser-engraved names of the engineers involved in the development are seen by everyone who comes to the laboratory.
We will conduct histological and morphological studies of printed objects, look at the internal structure of cells, compare them with those obtained using classical additive technologies. To date, due to the tight deadlines of the experiment, we have added special substances so that the material is fixed faster. Because of these substances, it is impossible to transplant what we have turned out. But with the installation of special bioreactor systems on the ISS and the adaptation of the process of sending to Earth, further transplantation will be possible.
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