![]() ![]() ![]() The findings showed that Arabidopsis root and shoot cells needed different combinations of nutrients and scaffolding for optimal viability. The researchers also bioprinted individual cells to test whether they could regenerate, or divide and multiply. ![]() "Bioprinting provides better opportunity for high throughput processing and control over the architecture of the cells after bioprinting, such as layers or honeycomb shapes." "This is a manually difficult process, and 3D bioprinting controls the pressure of the droplets and the speed at which the droplets are printed," Sozzani said. "Similar viability ranges are shown after manually pipetting cells, so the 3D printing process doesn't seem to do anything harmful to cells." "We expected good viability on the day the cells were bioprinted, but we had never maintained cells past a few hours after bioprinting, so we had no idea what would happen days later," Van den Broeck said. The research showed that more than half of the 3D bioprinted cells were viable and divided over time to form microcalli, or small colonies of cells. Mimicking the natural environment helps keep cellular signals and cues occurring as they would in soil." "When you print the bioink, you need it to be liquid, but when it comes out, it needs to be solid. "We found that it is critical to use proper scaffolding," said Ross Sozzani, professor of plant and microbial biology at NC State and a co-corresponding author of the paper. Agarose helps provide cells strength and scaffolding, similar to mortar that supports bricks in the wall of a building. Live plant cells without cell walls, or protoplasts, were bioprinted along with nutrients, growth hormones and a thickening agent called agarose-a seaweed-based compound. "The mechanics are the same in both processes with a few notable differences for plant cells: an ultraviolet filter used to keep the environment sterile and multiple print heads-rather than just one-to print different bioinks simultaneously." "Instead of 3D printing ink or plastic, we use 'bioink,' or living plant cells," Van den Broeck said. The process of 3D bioprinting plant cells is mechanically similar to printing ink or plastics, with a few necessary tweaks. We wanted to know what happens after you bioprint live cells and place them into an environment that you design: Are they alive and doing what they should be doing?" "There are also different sets of genes being expressed some are cell-specific. "A plant root has a lot of different cell types with specialized functions," said Lisa Van den Broeck, an NC State postdoctoral researcher who is the first author of a paper describing the work. The researchers bioprinted cells from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and from soybeans to study not just whether plant cells would live after being bioprinted-and for how long-but also to examine how they acquire and change their identity and function. ![]()
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