New material enables 3D-printed vascular structures

Researchers led by Professor Alvaro Mata at the University of Nottingham and Queen Mary University London have found a way to 3D print graphene oxide with a protein which can organise into tubular structures that replicate some properties of vascular tissue. Their findings are published in Nature Communications.

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“This work offers opportunities in biofabrication by enabling simultaneous top-down 3D bioprinting and bottom-up self-assembly of synthetic and biological components in an orderly manner from the nanoscale,” Prof Mata said in a statement. “Here, we are biofabricating micro-scale capillary-like fluidic structures that are compatible with cells, exhibit physiologically relevant properties, and have the capacity to withstand flow. This could enable the recreation of vasculature in the lab and have implications in the development of safer and more efficient drugs, meaning treatments could potentially reach patients much more quickly.”