Researchers from the Nationwide College of Singapore have created a brand new methodology for producing customized gum grafts utilizing 3D bioprinting mixed with synthetic intelligence. The approach, developed by a group led by Assistant Professor Gopu Sriram from the NUS College of Dentistry, gives an alternative choice to conventional grafting strategies that require harvesting tissue from the affected person’s mouth. This strategy goals to cut back affected person discomfort whereas offering customized options for dental procedures like repairing gum defects attributable to periodontal illness or issues from dental implants.
The analysis group developed a specialised bio-ink that helps cell progress whereas sustaining structural integrity throughout the printing course of. Their work, printed in Superior Healthcare Supplies on December 17, 2024, was supported by grants from the Nationwide Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster and Nationwide College Well being System. The bioprinted grafts demonstrated over 90% cell viability instantly after printing and all through an 18-day tradition interval.
“To hurry up the 3D bioprinting course of, we built-in AI into our workflow to deal with this important bottleneck,” stated Professor Dean Ho, Head of the Division of Biomedical Engineering at NUS and co-corresponding creator of the analysis paper. “This strategy enormously streamlines the method by lowering the variety of experiments wanted to optimise the bioprinting parameters — from doubtlessly hundreds to simply 25 mixtures.”
The AI-driven workflow considerably improves effectivity by lowering the normal trial-and-error experiments wanted to find out optimum printing parameters. Based on Assistant Professor Sriram, “Our research is among the many first to particularly combine 3D bioprinting and AI applied sciences for the biofabrication of customised oral smooth tissue constructs.” He added that “3D bioprinting is by far more difficult than typical 3D printing as a result of it includes residing cells, which introduce a bunch of complexities to the printing course of.”
The know-how has potential functions past dentistry. “3D bioprinting permits us to create tissue grafts that exactly match the size of a affected person’s wounds, doubtlessly lowering or eliminating the necessity to harvest tissue from the affected person’s physique,” Assistant Professor Sriram defined. Dr. Jacob Chew, a periodontist and co-investigator of the research, famous that “This stage of customisation minimises graft distortion and rigidity throughout wound closure, lowering the chance of issues, surgical procedure time and discomfort to the sufferers.”
Future analysis will give attention to translating these findings into medical functions. The group plans to conduct in vivo research to evaluate graft integration and stability in oral environments, whereas additionally exploring the mixing of blood vessels by way of multi-material bioprinting for extra advanced constructs. These developments might advance regenerative dentistry and doubtlessly affect broader functions in tissue engineering.
Supply: information.nus.edu.sg
