Newcastle University researchers have developed an innovative 3D bioprinting technology that produces human-like tissue models, potentially revolutionizing the drug development process for conditions including heart disease and arthritis.
The coffee machine-sized device, utilizing a technique called Reactive Jet Impingement (ReJI), creates tissue constructs with significantly higher cellular density than conventional bioprinting methods. This advancement could address a critical bottleneck in pharmaceutical research by providing more physiologically relevant testing platforms.
Revolutionary Bioprinting Technology
The ReJI technology employs a novel approach by simultaneously jetting two different liquids—a polymer solution and a cell suspension—that collide and mix in mid-air before landing on the printing surface. This process creates a cell-filled hydrogel that can be precisely deposited onto any substrate.
"The method increases cell density by about 10 times that of other bioprinting technologies, producing tissues that are much closer models to humans," explained project leader Professor Kenny Dalgarno from Newcastle University's School of Manufacturing and Engineering.
This density improvement represents a significant advance over traditional cell culture methods, which typically grow cells on flat surfaces like microscope slides. Three-dimensional tissue constructs better mimic the complex cellular environments found in human organs, potentially yielding more predictive test results.
Addressing Pharmaceutical Development Challenges
The pharmaceutical industry faces substantial challenges in bringing new treatments to market, with high failure rates during clinical trials contributing to extended development timelines and increased costs.
"Drug discovery is a complicated and extremely costly process involving multiple rounds of testing before they reach clinical trials," Professor Dalgarno noted. "In clinical investigations, only one in 10 of compounds tested proceeds to reach market. These rates of failure make it clear that we must improve our models so that they are more representative of drug response in humans."
By providing more physiologically relevant testing platforms earlier in the development pipeline, the ReJI technology could help researchers identify promising drug candidates more efficiently and eliminate those likely to fail in human trials.
Commercial Development and Implementation
The research team has established a spin-out company, Jetbio, to commercialize the technology and secure investment for global distribution. The company recently showcased the ReJI printer to UK government ministers and health leaders, including England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, at the Houses of Parliament.
The printers have already been deployed at the universities of Bristol, Newcastle, and Cambridge, where they will be used in laboratory research programs. This early adoption by leading research institutions demonstrates the technology's potential value to the scientific community.
Lucy Donaldson, director of research at Versus Arthritis, which provided funding for the project, highlighted the broader implications: "The JetBio team are in the vanguard of research driving forward new technologies that promise to improve both the quality and speed of drug development. These advances can potentially bring new drugs to the population sooner – and that applies to treatments for arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease."
Future Applications and Impact
The technology's versatility suggests applications beyond drug testing. The ability to create complex, cell-dense tissue constructs could potentially support research in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and personalized medicine approaches.
Professor Dalgarno emphasized the growing interest in this field: "There is currently a lot of interest in developing better human in vitro models of diseases and tissues so we have better ways of testing drugs."
By providing researchers with tools to create more accurate tissue models, the ReJI technology could contribute to reducing animal testing requirements while simultaneously improving the predictive value of preclinical studies. This represents a significant step toward more efficient, ethical, and effective pharmaceutical development processes.
