Optimization of 3D-Printed Parts

I have printed several parts (called scaffolds in tissue engineering) to find the best geometry and size to test for tissue growth. For spinal cord repair, it is important to create channels that allow for the neurons to spread their axons (which are the long parts of the cells that transmit information from cell to cell in neural tissue). The great part of the 3D printer is that it can create shapes that are tailored to fit the patients spine defect. However, for these projects I have found that printing out cylinder scaffolds is best, as they fit in the test dishes to grow the cells and their channel size can be changed.

For imaging, I have made very thin cylinders (they are essentially disks) so that the cells can be seen under the microscope, roughly 0.1 mm tall and 5 mm in diameter. The imaging is key, as the markers that the cells show can tell us about the cell type and healthiness during the experiments. Once the cells are growing into tissue during the experiments, I will print larger scaffolds to assess their effectiveness.

Next Step - Adding Cells!