A patch of blood

3d-printed Blood Plasma Implant can Speed up Wound Healing

Tatiana Matveeva, "Scientific Russia"

Researchers from the RCSI University of Medicine and Public Health (Ireland) printed an implant made of bio-ink containing blood plasma, which helped heal the wound faster, the RCSI press service reports. The discovery is described in detail in the journal Advanced Functional Materials (Ibanez et al., 3D Printed Scaffolds Incorporated with Platelet-Rich Plasma Show Enhanced Angiogenic Potential while not Inducing Fibrosis). 

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a natural healing substance in our blood. In this study, scientists used it to create an implant for tissue repair. They extracted plasma from the blood of a patient with a complex skin wound and added it to a gelatin methacrylate hydrogel. So they got biochernils for 3D printing and were able to use them to create an implant that can be used to treat difficult-to-heal skin wounds.

The results showed that the use of a 3D-printed implant helped accelerate wound healing by providing effective vascularization (which means the development of new blood vessels) and suppression of fibrosis (scarring/thickening of tissue).

Vascularization of the wound with a "patch" of conventional hydrogel (left) and hydrogel with the addition of PRP – VM.

"The existing literature suggests that although PRP, already present in our blood, helps heal wounds, scarring can still occur. With the help of 3D printing of the [HP implant] frame from biomaterial, we can increase the formation of blood vessels, as well as avoid scarring, which will lead to more successful wound healing," emphasizes Professor Fergal O'Brien, professor of bioengineering and regenerative medicine at RCSI.

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