Making Muscles, Building Brains: Inside the Mind-Blowing World of Biofabrication

Source: Sally Wood

Researchers have begun work to turn biomedical science fiction into reality. From biosynthetic brains for predicting epilepsy to tiny 3D printed implants for regrowing muscle and bones, this research is at the very edge of what is medically possible. Engineers, robotics experts and biologists have linked with top surgeons and clinicians to bridge the gap between dreaming and delivering. Professor Rob Kapsa is a lead RMIT researcher at the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery, where he heads a research group using ACMD’s purpose-built biofabrication lab. ACMD is based at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, and brings researchers and clinicians together to find solutions for some of the world’s biggest biomedical challenges. “This is fundamentally about making things that fully integrate into our bodies, to heal, repair and restore function. Unlike traditional implants, biofabricated structures and devices can actually come close to mimicking the phenomenal complexity of living human tissue.” “Biofabrication combines materials engineering, biological sciences, additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and biomedical health technologies,” Professor Kapsa said. The research opens fresh opportunities for making structures to restore, replace and regenerate bones and muscles, joints and connective tissues. For example, researchers are working on new biofabricated technologies to repair deteriorating bones in older people. The process also involves developing a customised, self-regulating artificial pancreas for people with diabetes and build replacement muscles for trauma patients. Professor Kapsa said 3D technology is the key to success when the researchers are conducting their modelling. “When you’re trying to understand how the brain works, and how to fix it when it goes wrong, looking at cells on two-dimensional slides only takes you so far. So we build in three dimensions, using 3D bioprinting,” he said. The centre’s ‘brains’ are around 3mm by 3mm but there is still enough functioning brain to be studied and analysed. The brain blocks are made from skin cells, which are reprogramed into stem cells that can make neurons. The block of ‘brain’ is suspended in a 3D collagen matrix and put on array of electrodes. The ‘brains’ are paving the way for research into epilepsy, which affects one in 100 people. “We know that about half of those develop the condition later in life, after experiencing some injury to the brain when they were younger.” “We take skin cells from people who have that genetic mutation, remove the mutation and grow biosynthetic ‘brain’ from those genetically-edited cells. For comparison, we also make brain out of their ‘epilepsy-positive’, unedited cells,” Professor Kapsa said. The ‘brains’ are then tested against a certain level of injury to see if, and when, they display epileptic-like activity. Researchers are working with neurologists at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute who discovered a genetic mutation that causes epilepsy, as well as neurologists at St Vincent’s Hospital. “What we’re ultimately aiming for is a simple genetic test that could determine if you are likely to develop epilepsy from minor head trauma, such as through playing AFL football or other sports,” Professor Kapsa said. The ‘brains’ can also be used for the personalised modelling of neurological disorders. This is where a ‘brain’ grown from a patient’s own cells could enable a clinician to better understand their condition, optimise treatment and ultimately, even their prognosis. “This work opens exciting new avenues for the design, development, fabrication and translation of biomechatronic hybrid devices and systems,” Professor Kapsa said. The Victorian Government recently award $206 million for a purposebuilt facility to support the centre’s continued growth.

Images from top: Biofabrication focuses on making structures to restore, replace and regenerate anything from bones and muscles to brain.

This bioprinted block of ‘brain’ – neural cells suspended in a 3D collagen matrix – helps scientists understand and treat neurological conditions.

State-of-the-art technologies at the ACMD are helping power the research.