Innovative 3D-Printed Device Facilitates Advanced Human Tissue Modeling

A groundbreaking advancement in biomedical research has emerged from an interdisciplinary team at the University of Washington and UW Medicine. They have developed a compact, 3D-printed device designed to enhance the modeling of human tissues, enabling scientists to create complex tissue structures with unprecedented precision.

This new tool, referred to as the Suspended Tissue Open Microfluidic Patterning device, or STOMP, is small enough to fit on a fingertip. It promises to significantly impact the field of tissue engineering, allowing researchers to design and test treatments for various diseases more effectively.

Tissue engineering has recently made strides in speed and accuracy, aiming to replicate the natural environments where cells function. One current method involves suspending cells within a gel between two posts, which permits a degree of cellular behavior akin to that observed in the human body. However, this method has limitations when it comes to studying multiple tissue types simultaneously. The ability to manipulate the composition and organization of different tissues could pave the way for a better understanding of complex diseases, including neuromuscular disorders.

A detailed study published in the journal Advanced Science outlines how this novel platform allows researchers to investigate cellular responses to various mechanical and physical stimuli while crafting distinct regions within suspended tissue structures. The STOMP device is a significant step forward, enabling the recreation of biological interfaces such as bone and ligament, as well as variations in heart tissue, including fibrotic and healthy samples.

The research team, led by Ashleigh Theberge, a chemistry professor, and Nate Sniadecki, a mechanical engineering professor and interim co-director of the UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, has demonstrated the device's capabilities. The first authors of the study include Amanda Haack, a medical scientist program student, and Lauren Brown, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry.

The STOMP device enhances existing tissue-engineering methods by utilizing a casting approach, likened to preparing gelatin desserts. Instead of pouring a mixture of living and synthetic materials into a mold, researchers use a pipetting technique to position the gel within a designed frame. This innovative method employs capillary action--similar to how water rises in a straw--to allow the precise arrangement of various cell types according to experimental requirements.

The research team conducted two experiments to evaluate the STOMP device: one focused on comparing the contractile dynamics of both healthy and diseased engineered heart tissues, while the other examined the ligament that connects a tooth to its socket. The compact device is designed to dock onto a two-post system developed by the Sniadecki Lab, which measures the contractile force generated by heart cells. It features an open microfluidic channel with specific geometric elements that facilitate the spatial manipulation of different cell types and the creation of multiple regions within a single suspended tissue.

Enhancements made by the DeForest Research Group incorporated degradable walls into the STOMP design. This feature allows tissue engineers to dissolve the device's sides while preserving the integrity of the cultured tissues. According to Sniadecki, traditional 3D gel systems often cause cells to pull away from mold walls due to their contractile forces, limiting the effectiveness of tissue modeling. The nonstick quality of the STOMP device provides greater versatility in this regard.

Theberge expressed enthusiasm for the potential applications of STOMP, emphasizing that this method opens new avenues for research in tissue engineering and cellular signaling, resulting from the collaboration of multiple disciplines.