| Jul 08, 2024 |
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(Nanowerk Information) Researchers at Tel Aviv College relied on ideas of origami, the Japanese artwork of paperfolding, to develop an unique and progressive resolution for an issue that has been troubling researchers worldwide: positioning sensors inside 3D-bioprinted tissue fashions. As a substitute of bioprinting tissue over the sensors (discovered to be impracticable) they design and produce an origami-inspired construction that folds across the fabricated tissue, permitting the insertion of sensors into exactly pre-defined places.
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The examine was a joint effort of researchers from a number of items at TAU: the Faculty of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, the Koum Heart for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, the Division of Biomedical Engineering, the Sagol Heart for Regenerative Drugs, the Sagol Faculty of Neuroscience and the Drimmer-Fischler Household Stem Cell Core Laboratory for Regenerative Drugs. The researchers are: Noam Rahav, Adi Soffer, Prof. Ben Maoz, Prof. Uri Ashery, Denise Marrero, Emma Glickman, Megane Beldjilali-Labro, Yakey Yaffe, Keshet Tadmor, and Yael Leichtmann-Bardoogo.
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The paper was printed within the main scientific journal Superior Science (“Multi-Sensor Origami Platform: A Customizable System for Obtaining Spatiotemporally Precise Functional Readouts in 3D Models”).
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| The 3D Origami Platform built-in in a 3D printed construction. (Picture: Tel Aviv College)
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Prof. Maoz explains: “The use of 3D-bioprinters to print biological tissue models for research is already widespread. In existing technologies, the printer head moves back and forth, printing layer upon layer of the required tissue. This method, however, has a significant drawback: The tissue cannot be bioprinted over a set of sensors needed to provide information about its inner cells, because in the process of printing the printer head breaks the sensors. We propose a new approach to the complex problem: origami.”
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The innovation is predicated on an unique synergy between science with artwork. Utilizing CAD (Laptop Aided Design) software program the researchers design a multi-sensing construction personalized for a selected tissue mannequin – impressed by origami paperfolding. This construction incorporates varied sensors for monitoring {the electrical} exercise or resistance of cells in exactly chosen places throughout the tissue. The pc mannequin is used to fabricate a bodily construction which is then folded across the bioprinted tissue – so that every sensor is inserted into its predefined place contained in the tissue. The TAU group has named their novel platform MSOP – Multi-Sensor Origami Platform.
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The brand new methodology’s effectiveness was demonstrated on 3D-bioprinted mind tissues, with the inserted sensors recording neuronal electrical exercise. The researchers emphasize, nonetheless, that the system is each modular and versatile: it might place any quantity and any sort of sensors in any chosen place inside any sort of 3D-bioprinted tissue mannequin, in addition to in tissues grown artificially within the lab resembling mind organoids – small spheres of neurons simulating the human mind.
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Prof. Maoz provides: “For experiments with bioprinted brain tissue, we demonstrated an additional advantage of our platform: the option for adding a layer that simulates the natural blood-brain barrier (BBB) – a cell layer protecting the brain from undesirable substances carried in the blood, which unfortunately also blocks certain medications intended for brain diseases. The layer we add consists of human BBB cells, enabling us to measure their electrical resistance which indicates their permeability to various medications.”
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The researchers summarize: “In this study, we created an ‘out-of-the-box’ synergy between scientific research and art. We developed a novel method inspired by origami paperfolding, enabling the insertion of sensors into precisely predefined locations within 3D-bioprinted tissue models, to detect and record cell activity and communication between cells. This new technology is an important step forward for biological research.”
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