Redwire has announced the successful 3D printing of human tissue in microgravity, as a step towards more ambitious applications of biotechnology in space. The company now believes that human knee meniscus, printed at the 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) on the International Space Station on September 7, was returned to Earth by the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which delivered Crew-6 in September. He said he was in the lab. 4. The meniscus was printed at the station in July.

The experiment was conducted in conjunction with Army Service University, which sought better treatments for injuries such as meniscus tear that are common among military personnel. For Redwire, the experiment was a way to demonstrate the BFF’s ability to print napkins for wider use.

“For us, this is a great target tissue to follow,” Ken Savin, Redwire’s chief science officer, said in an interview. “This allows us to test our ability to insert cells into this type of system, to see their viability, and in a way it’s a starting point for other tissues we’ll explore.”

One of his areas of special interest is the possibility of producing human tissue for pharmaceutical purposes such as model development. “There will be some advantages to being able to design any kind of fabric you want in space in the future,” he said. “This will also lead us to model development, tissue replacement therapy, and eventually organ replacement therapy.”

Bioprinting is impossible on Earth due to gravity. “Often you have to add chemicals or some structure or structure that allows you to print in third dimension. Otherwise everything will turn into a puddle,” he explained. “By printing in space, things that are slightly more viscous than water can be 3D printed.”

Redwire is planning another experiment scheduled to launch in November on a Dragon cargo mission that will involve printing heart tissue for the BFF. He said this will test how cells can print more complex tissues, including the ability to work in rhythm.

“This also leads to something we think is really important,” he added. “I think heart tissue therapy is a big deal, and we see the value in providing that.”

Savin said Redwire has seen growing interest from the pharmaceutical community to run experiments on the space station using BFFs or other agents. “I’m beginning to see ordinary scientists in America suggest experiments in space,” he said, including scientists who have not traditionally done microgravity research. “We could talk about these possibilities and try to do an experiment to test their hypotheses in space. It’s possible and it’s happening.” Source