3D printed micro-ships get a drug test from leading U.S. universities

在回想起科幻小说的发展中，3D印刷船已被证明能够治疗受损的脑组织。

看似收到的最新设备shrink-ray treatment是生物焦点 - 类似于基本火箭或子弹的多孔圆柱体。

The Biocage has been made in a project led by researchers atGeorge Washington University（GWU），马里兰大学，儿童国家医学中心，弗吉尼亚理工大学，布朗和耶鲁大学的合作。

通过小鼠大脑的测试，生物量已被证明是“用于局部和精确治疗[药物]递送的强大工具”。

From fabrication, to implantation, to treatment - stages of the Biocage. Image via Scientific Reports — 从制造，植入到治疗 - 生物段的阶段。通过科学报告图像

严重疾病的替代方案

The power of new pharmaceutical developments like the Biocage lies in their potential to target areas of the body and treat specific, often rare, illnesses and diseases.

3D打印通常在微观范围内，已应用于许多旨在提高患者护理可能性的项目中。使用3D纳米光刻，一个团队IFW DRESDEN和化学技术大学created tetrapod sheaths forsperm that could be used to treat gynecologic cancers.

Similarly, a team at theMax Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems在斯图加特（Stuttgart）充满药物的“微武器”that could be used to target sites of infection and disease.

微观制造

GWU的生物焦点是使用Nanoscribe光子专业GT 3D激光光刻系统制造的，这是该项目与Max Planck Institute和其他机构共同的两光子聚合3D打印机including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Pores in the body of the Biocage are 0.005 mm in diameter, and a single cage capsule measures just 0.90 mm in length.

它们是由改良的IP光蛋白天材料制成的，旨在在小规模上提供高分辨率和结构稳定性。

3D打印后，生物焦点充满活性物质，并用盖子密封。

SEM images of the two-photon 3D printed Biocages. Image via Scientific Reports

Biocages on the brain

GWU scientists first tested the capsules using a fluorescent liquid – enabling them to see how liquid is released from the Biocage inside the brain.

在另一项测试中，胶囊中充满了琼脂糖和生物细胞的混合物，这是一种自然发生在血清和尿液中的化合物。根据结果published in Scientific Reports，“在生物发生的区域清楚地观察到了生物细胞释放（…）在仅装有琼脂糖的对照生物发生物中未观察到的标记。”

因此，观察到的效果证明了体内物质释放到健康，活着的小鼠的大脑中的基本能力。

Experiments with potential

Through further study of Biocages GWU and associate researchers hope to be able to help develop new therapies for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease11, and epilepsy. According to authors, “this device may also provide a means of other therapies that have had faced certain technical limitations, including stem cell and gene therapies.”

Disssion继续说：“鉴于其潜力，在适当利用该生物的各种治疗环境方面，许多研究仍然存在。”