A bioreactor that grows human cells could change drug development
Novel platform supports biomedical research without animal testing
A bioreactor from Los Alamos National Laboratory simulates the complex environment in which human cells grow, presenting an emerging new method to investigate interactions among multiple cell types.
Why this matters: For biomedical research, systems such as this could facilitate therapeutics development without the need for animal testing and without the drawbacks of polymer-molded microfluidic devices.
How they did it: To create a microenvironment that mimics key features in human physiology to enable the cells’ growth, the team combined 3D-printing techniques and alternative materials such as permeable membranes.
· The system uses a 3D-printed perfusion bioreactor to facilitate the growth and differentiation of human bone marrow cells while enabling co-culture with vascular cells.
· The team studied samples under a microscope for biomarker analysis.
What’s next: Los Alamos scientists plan to explore biomedical cell behavior and disorders more thoroughly using the new techniques in this study. Future development will incorporate a way to facilitate the simultaneous culture and differentiation of all cell types, along with molecular-scale analysis.
Funding: Laboratory Directed Research and Development program of Los Alamos National Laboratory
LA-UR-25-28707
Share
Stay up to date
Subscribe to Stay Informed of Recent Science, Technology and Engineering Highlights from LANL
Subscribe NowMore STE Highlights Stories
STE Highlights Home
A surprising use for distorted data to glean hidden laws
Scientists explore the use of metastable data for machine learning to study complex systems
When magnetism becomes superconductivity's ally
In nickelate thin films, superconductivity vanishes — then reappears — as the magnetic field grows stronger
Making tiny glass parts? Try printing them
Los Alamos method builds small glass components layer by layer
Valley fever’s far-flung travels captured by machine learning
Los Alamos scientists study the genomes of fungi in complex environments to understand their impact
Society of Petroleum Engineers honors Los Alamos scientist for high-volume peer reviews
Meng is associate editor of 2 journals
Proton radiography team receives NNSA Defense Programs Award of Excellence
Plutonium experiments support the nation’s nuclear weapons program