Scientists at IIT Guwahati are using Muga silk to create affordable 3D-printed human organs
This method of 3D printing using bioink derived from proteins from Muga silk is affordable when compared to conventional 3D printing of organs with collagen.
Advanced and affordable healthcare solutions like 3D printing of human organs and tissues are the future especially in a country like India where the cost of medical treatment is an important issue.
In India, there are only 0.7 doctors and 1.1 beds for every 1,000 citizens. To counter the shortage and make healthcare accessible, state and the Central Governments have been trying to provide various solutions.
Muga Silkworm
For instance, Ayushman Bharat and Delhi Government’s Mohalla Clinic, which provides treatments and medicines at an affordable cost have already been implemented. But more needs to be done.
Using proteins from Muga silk, IIT Guwahati has already commenced research and has successfully created a bioink with live cells. This bioink fused with live cells will be used for 3D printing of tissues, implants, and later if possible, even human organs at a lower cost.
According to Professor Biman B Mandal, Associate Professor, Department of Bioscience and Engineering, IIT Guwahati, conventional 3D printing of organs with collagen costs over Rs 10,000, whereas with 10 grams of silk, it will only cost you Rs 2.
Now, if a patient needs artificial tissues, the bioink will be integrated with stem cells from the patient itself. Later, artificial tissues would be 3D printed from the bioink. Once the artificial tissues are printed, they are kept in the laboratory to mature before it can replace the damaged body parts.
The research team headed by Biman B Mandal, at the Tissue Engineering Laboratory at IIT-Guwahati has been working with silk proteins for a while now. They are trying to create artificial implants that can replicate the biological architecture of human tissues and bone cartilage, reports The Print.
Speaking to Manufacture 3D Magazine on the usage of Muga silk, Biman said,
Once implanted, the cells in the 3D printed patch grow and proliferate, while the silk proteins degrade into amino acids - giving space for the damaged part of the organ to regrow.
He added,
“This method does away with the need for additional surgery to remove the implant. When you use a 3D printer or bioprinter, the bioink should have specific properties. Liquid silk is used to create the bioink. This is obtained either by dissolving silk fibres into appropriate solvents or by direct extraction from silkworm glands.”
(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)
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