Researchers from the波哈科学技术大学(POSTECH) have developed 3D printed stents that could ease the symptoms of esophagitis in radiotherapy patients.
基于喉细胞来源的生物墨水，该团队的类似哑铃样装置被证明能够减少由放射性癌症疗法引起的炎症。科学家认为，他们的潜在食管炎也可以与其他组织特异性细胞一起加载，并用于治疗局部伤害，例如伤口或烧伤。
“The effectiveness of [radiotherapy] treatment is negated if proper nutrition cannot be delivered due to the pain,” explained Dong-Woo Cho who led the study. “If this esophageal stent implantation is applied clinically, we expect that the patients will have better prognosis and higher quality of life.”
Treating the side effects of chemotherapy
尽管放射治疗通常可能是癌症患者的救生治疗方法，但它经常使他们也会出现其他不愉快的症状。放射性食管炎是治疗的特别讨厌的后效应，可导致患者的喉咙痛和炎症，在大多数急性病例中，甚至死亡。
根据Radiation Therapy Oncology Group(RTOG), the condition also causes 25 percent of patients to suffer from eating disorders, prolonging their recovery. Despite this, no cure currently exists for radiation esophagitis, and therapies such as antibiotic and nutritional support often require oral dosage, which has limited their success.
虽然有时使用支架来治疗食管疾病，但它们会引起复发性吞咽困难，并且不会直接治疗炎症。为了打击这些不良反应，科学家认为可以将水凝胶加载到可生物降解的支架中，从而治疗患者而不会引起进一步的不适。
3D打印辐射支架
In order to fabricate their additive stents quickly and easily, the researchers deployed a ‘rotating rod’ system armed with multiple extrusion heads. During the process, the print heads were loaded with both a biocompatible PCL polymer and a cell-laden ECL matrix, and extruded onto a frame that would form the device’s reservoir.
支架的外部结构还具有打开的凹槽表面，既是单向药物释放途径，又是增强其完整性的“桥梁”。一旦团队用10–20μl的水凝胶加载了设备，他们就会交叉细胞，并进行了一系列无效的生存能测试。
SEM micrograph analyses showed that the team’s ECM matrix featured the dense, interconnected morphology necessary for supporting cell proliferation. Moreover, when the scientists deployed their stent within an immortalized human model, the esophageal cells exhibited a cell viability of more than 90 percent over 14 days.
Further tests were then carried out on esophagitis-induced lab rats, in which some were fitted with the team’s additive device, and others weren’t. Results showed that the untreated animals reduced their meal consumption, while those with the stent showed decreased inflammation, and increased their food intake after 23 days.
尽管科学家承认，大鼠和人之间可能存在“放射生物学差异”，但他们补充说，他们最终诱导了所需的治疗作用。结果，团队认为他们的支架既是对食管炎的直接治疗，又是其他类型的细胞，也是其他基于炎症的损伤。
Combatting dysphagia using 3D printing
近年来，几位研究人员已经采用了3D打印，作为解决各种疾病患者造成的吞咽困难相关的不适的一种手段。
Scientists from theUniversity of Technology Sydney(UTS) andDeakin University， 有3D印刷餐that are both tastier and safer to eat for dysphagia patients. By using pureed food as ‘ink,’ the team were able to fabricate foods that appeared more like their conventional counterparts.
在其他地方，来自爱尔兰的研究人员Athlone Institute of Technology， 有designed3D printed pillsthat are much easier to swallow. The team used a combined FFF 3D printing and micro injection molding process to develop custom bilayer tablets capable of releasing drugs in specific quantities.
Similarly, British pharmaceutical firmFabRx， 已开发3D printed personalized medicinefor children with the rare MSUD metabolic disorder. The life-long condition requires patients to take daily supplements, and the team’s tailored pills can be produced more rapidly and effectively than conventional alternatives.
The researchers’ findings are detailed in their paper titled “Therapeutic effect of decellularized extracellular matrix-based hydrogel for radiation esophagitis by 3D printed esophageal stent.”The study was co-authored by Dong-Heon Ha, Suhun Chae, Jae Yeon Lee, Jae Yun Kim, Jungbin Yoon, Tugce Sen, Sung-Woo Lee, Hak Jae Kim, Jae Ho Cho and Dong-Woo Cho.
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Featured image shows the POSTECH team’s stents during the 3D printing process. Photo via the Biomaterials journal.
