From Decellurization to Imaging to 3-D Printing: low-cost plant-derived 3D-printed tissue scaffolds for tissue engineering

Natures most abundant carbohydrate, cellulose, has incredible structural properties that can be leveraged as scaffolds for tissue engineering. With plants being an inexpensive and easily accessible source, it is more feasible to experiment with these techniques and progress in the field of regenerative tissue engineering. In this study, we set out to optimize a low-cost method to obtain cellulose scaffolds that could potentially mimic a blood vessels after recellularization with endothelial cells. We chose a readily available plant specimen, i.e. cauliflower stalk, which offers anatomical similarity to blood vessels, vascular architecture and interconnected porosity. We went on to capture the cellulose scaffold digitally and created a 3-D model using a computer-aided design (CAD) software which was then used for 3-D printing the scaffold in two different sizes. We believe the decellularize-image-print cycle allows for skipping decellularization processes of new scaffolds every time a scaffold is required and therefore cutting cost and time needed, enables instant dissemination between individual researchers and communities and allows scalable printing at any size and level of detail. We hope this will catalyze even faster innovation in the space of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.