Chemical Giant BASF Teams With Poietis on 4D Bioprinted Skin Project
Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD
“Poietis’ approach strays wildly from other companies like Organovo in that instead of using the typical extrusion model of printing that we are all used to seeing, they are working on laser-assisted bioprinting. This approach allows for incredibly accurate, high resolution printing of living cells. In fact, they claim to be able to concentrate as many as 100 million cells per millimeter and print them at 20 micron resolutions. This results in a phenomenal 100% cell viability rate.
The way the technology works is that a laser is focused on a substrate containing the cells. This creates a jet of micro droplets which are focused then onto the build plate as the machine delicately ‘prints’ these cells layer by layer, in three dimensions. They call this process ‘4D Bioprinting’ because a forth dimension is utilized, and that dimension is ‘time’. Once the tissue is printed, time is required for the cells to communicate and self-assemble.
This unique approach to bio-printing has attracted the attention of BASF. Now BASF wants to use Poietis’ laser technology, combined with their own chemicals and processes to better fabricate their Mimeskin™ tissue.”
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This is very insightful. There is no doubt that there is the bias you refer to. 42 years ago, when I was postdocing in biochemistry/enzymology before completing my residency in pathology, I knew that there were very influential mambers of the faculty, who also had large programs, and attracted exceptional students. My mentor, it was said (although he was a great writer), could draft a project on toilet paper and call the NIH. It can’t be true, but it was a time in our history preceding a great explosion. It is bizarre for me to read now about eNOS and iNOS, and about CaMKII-á, â, ã, ä – isoenzymes. They were overlooked during the search for the genome, so intermediary metabolism took a back seat. But the work on protein conformation, and on the mechanism of action of enzymes and ligand and coenzyme was just out there, and became more important with the research on signaling pathways. The work on the mechanism of pyridine nucleotide isoenzymes preceded the work by Burton Sobel on the MB isoenzyme in heart. The Vietnam War cut into the funding, and it has actually declined linearly since.
A few years later, I was an Associate Professor at a new Medical School and I submitted a proposal that was reviewed by the Chairman of Pharmacology, who was a former Director of NSF. He thought it was good enough. I was a pathologist and it went to a Biochemistry Review Committee. It was approved, but not funded. The verdict was that I would not be able to carry out the studies needed, and they would have approached it differently. A thousand young investigators are out there now with similar letters. I was told that the Department Chairmen have to build up their faculty. It’s harder now than then. So I filed for and received 3 patents based on my work at the suggestion of my brother-in-law. When I took it to Boehringer-Mannheim, they were actually clueless.