Treating deep wounds, such as those caused by burns or diabetes, remains a major medical challenge. Tissue implants often fail because they lack a functioning blood vessel system and the cells are not sufficiently supplied with nutrients. An interdisciplinary research project of the IGVP together with the NMI Reutlingen, funded by the BW Foundation, now aims to change this: through so-called prevascularization - the advance introduction of a vascular system into the replacement tissue - personalized, three-dimensional, vascularized fatty tissue is to be created in the laboratory. These could significantly improve the healing of soft tissue defects in the future. The core of the project is the use of modern 3D bioprinting technologies and newly developed bioinks that contain the patient's own cells and components. The bio-ink consists of mature fat cells, special stem cell aggregates, endothelial cells and polymer fibers coated with the body's own matrix. These hybrid materials serve as guiding structures and signal transmitters to promote the formation of a functioning capillary network.
The goal: standardized, individually adapted tissue implants that enable efficient and successful treatment of soft tissue damage.
