Bioprinting: From concept to reality.
Organovo’s NovoGen MMX Bioprinter. Image: Organovo
The human cell represents the smallest functional unit of life. All tissues in the body are composed of multiple cell types, typically arranged in a 3-D architecture that is relevant to the functions they carry out. Since cells were first isolated and grown in the laboratory environment, biologists and engineers have pursued the utilization of these tiny building blocks in the reconstruction and regeneration of functional tissue. Whether used in a controlled laboratory setting to model specific diseases and test the effects of drugs, or delivered into the body as therapeutics for the treatment of disease, the common goal is to establish or re-establish in vivo-like function.