Disposable Coaxial Needles for 3D Printing Hollow Capillaries

­BACKGROUND

Many tissues in the body have microcapillaries of various sizes (<0.1 mm) to ensure the transport of nutrients and metabolic wastes. These capillaries are surrounded by various types of cells that collectively provide the necessary function. Advances in 3D printing techniques, have sparked a significant interest in adapting the technology for developing tissues, particularly liver tissue. Although there are a variety of printers and biomaterials, printing microcapillaries matching that in the tissue is not possible.

SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY

Researchers at OSU have developed coaxial needles that can be used for printing microcapillaries of various sizes recreating that in the liver. The novel nozzle is built using the fundamentals of laminar flow with the intent of reducing wall shear stress impinged on cells during the printing process. Tests on the needles show the possibility of printing hollow tubes with an inner diameter less than 0.05 mm, an order of magnitude smaller size than commercial nozzles can provide. This allows for printing tissue microcapillaries, enabling drug screening and other tissue research to be far more advanced.

POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATION

• Printing tissues for drug screening and other cell research

MAIN ADVANTAGES

• Low cost 
• Disposable design keeps sterility
• Easily adopted to current printer technology

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

• Working model