Affordable 3D Bioprinter

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Scientists Build Affordable 3D Bioprinter Using Lego  in ExtremeTech

They're hoping other labs will use their blueprint to construct identical bioprinting systems.

By Adrianna Nine April 27, 2023

Lego isn’t just for building spaceship replicas and memorable scenes from your favorite franchise. Scientists in Wales have used the beloved plastic bricks to piece together a machine that grows human tissue to cut down on 3D bioprinting costs.

3D bioprinting is a newer technique in which researchers construct tissue using “bio-ink,” a substrate that contains living cells. This method is primarily said to be beneficial for the medical field, which has done everything from 3D printing a human ear to growing lung replicas over just the last couple of years. Researchers hope 3D bioprinting will supplement the scant supply of human transplant organs and perform traditionally invasive surgeries in a less-invasive way.

But one significant barrier to 3D bioprinting is its price. The bioprinters are expensive, and the stuff they use to print is, too. The cells in bio-ink have to come from somewhere, and while some are derived from donated organs, there are ethical implications to taking cells from tissue removed during surgery. This means samples are scarce, making 3D bioprinting costly—and sometimes impossible—to perform. 

A group of pharmaceutical researchers at Cardiff University teamed up to shrink this obstacle by building a low-cost 3D bioprinter that grows human tissue samples. They started by obtaining three materials: standard Lego bricks, Lego Mindstorms bricks (explicitly made for robotics until late last year), and an everyday lab pump. The group partnered with Cardiff engineers and biologists to design, build, and program the machine, eventually producing a 3D bioprinter that cost only £500 ($623).... '