A gallium mold used to make a channel system in a soft gel, imitating blood vessels
Subramanian Sundaram/BU and Harvard University
Organs grown for transplants in the lab are one step closer thanks to a technique to make artificial blood vessels using 3D printers and liquid metal.
A challenge in developing organs in the laboratory is to reproduce the microscopic structure of the blood vessels that run through the tissue. In the body, cells are supported by the extracellular matrix (ECM), a network of proteins such as collagen that acts as a natural scaffold, providing structure to tissues and organs.
