3D printing: study of a prototype bio-hybrid applications of regenerative medicine, Prof. Riccardo Calafiore - funded by the CARIT Foundation

The research project, funded by the CARIT (Cassa di Risparmio di Terni and Narni) Foundation, has as its objective the study of a prototype bio-hybrid produced through 3D printing for applications of regenerative medicine. The enormous advances in knowledge in the field of cell biology and biotechnology has allowed in recent years, the development of technology for the cultivation and in vitro reconstruction of tissue or organs, defining a new branch of biomedical sciences known by the term "tissue engineering" One of the most recent and promising techniques of tissue engineering is the bioprinting a technique that, through the use of dedicated software and hardware for the design of patterns and structures in 2D and 3D, aims to produce a structure or engineered tissue that can be used in regenerative medicine (treatment approach aimed at the regeneration of biological tissue rather than replaced), or as material for biological and pharmacological tests and studies. One aim of the project is to investigate the possibility of creating a prototype using mesenchymal stem cells together with fibrin to form the bioink use of a polymeric material such as polycaprolactone. A further objective concerns the design of the micro-architecture of the scaffolds in such a way that it can be conferred to the same mechanical strength necessary for maintaining the required spaces for cell growth and resistance to degradation. The final objective concerns the printing of the scaffold with the bioink for the realization of the prototype biohybrid and evaluation of both the vitality of the cells that of their morphology and interaction between them and the biomaterial.