IIT Madras, MIT scientists develop brain tissues with 3D printed bioreactor

In an extraordinary feat, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) in collaboration with the US' Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed human brain tissue called ‘organoids’ with help of a 3D Printed Bioreactor. In a research published in the peer-reviewed international journal Biomicrofluidics on Monday, scientists explained that the brain organoids have emerged as “valuable models” for the study of human brain development in health and disease. The invention will help revolutionize treatment developments for diseases such as spinal cord injury, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and targeted cancer treatment. Furthermore, the organoid-based diagnosis also comes in handy for screening pharmaceutical compounds for many diseases, the scientists said in the paper published on the AIP database. 

[Image Credit: Biomicrofluidics journal]

[Image Credit: Biomicrofluidics journal]

Scientists designed a microfluidic chip for imaging and culturing of organoids. This ensures the long-term growth of organoids into a 3D spheroid form. A transparent glass disk with a thickness of 150m was placed on what researchers call a ‘Matrigel’ [extracellular environment matrix of polymers] that provided an optical window for live-organoid imaging. The chip was then put on the heating plate and warmed to 37C. “Microfluidic chip was made using stereolithography based 3D printing technology,” scientists from IIT and MIT informed. It was refined further using the 3D CAD modeling software. The printed chip was then cured by exposure to UV light and then connected to an incubator environment for the growth of ‘organoids’. 

“Our system has the advantage of being easily manufactured, via 3D printing, and is more versatile than the aforementioned systems. In our design, chip printing is cheap and easily adjustable. It is adaptable to any microscope, including non-standard custom made or upright microscopes. design provides a fully enclosed system, allowing for a sterile and safe working condition with precise control of the cell environment,” IIT scientists explained. 

[Image Credit: Biomicrofluidics journal]

Costs are 'significantly lower'

For the development of human brain tissue, the 3D printing was done using approximately 15 ml resin, including one used for the scaffold, at a cost of only around 5 USD per chip. “Our design costs are significantly lower than traditional bioreactor-based organoid culture products that can cost tens of dollars,” scientists said. In all, the current cell culture protocol involves different chambers for incubation and imaging and was developed on a single palm-sized platform for long-term human brain cells culture imaging. “Improved long-term culture came from bioreactors like rotary cell culture system (RCCS), Spin Omega,” the study revealed.