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3D printing is the new frontier as far as the medical, health, personal care, and beauty industries are concerned. Specifically, 3D bioprinting allows companies to recreate human skin and potentially even human organs. Procter & Gamble is joining in this innovation by launching a new grant competition. P&G is inviting all of the research institutions in Singapore to explore ideas for ways they can beneficially use bioprinting.
“There’s a lot of interest from both consumer goods companies and big pharma in bioprinting. P&G’s strategy to launch a grant competition is probably a very cost effective way of trying to get a snapshot of all the possibilities,” stated Brian Derby, professor of materials science at the University of Manchester.
How Does Bioprinting Work?
Bioprinting begins by taking cultured human cells and creating a bio-ink. This ink is placed into cartridges which are fitted into a device used for printing. This bioprinter then spurts out the cells in a pattern along with a hydrogel that acts as a scaffolding. The cells begin to grow and eventually the hydrogel is removed.
Although bioprinting is still in its early stages, companies like L’Oreal are already working on bioprinting skin to steer away from animal testing. Pharmaceutical companies are hoping that the ability to bioprint tissue will speed up the process of drug development and testing. In the distant future, it could even help with organ donation issues.
A P&G location was the recipient of one of our recent dumpster deliveries. These deliveries give us the opportunity to interact with a variety of industries, and inspire these posts!