---
title: "New bioprinting development may lead to 3D printed human organs"
url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/new-bioprinting-development-may-lead-to-3d-printed-human-organs/
date: 2025-02-21
modified: 2025-02-21
lang: en
author: "Edward Wakefield"
description: "According to Northeastern University, a breakthrough in the bioprinting of living tissues could soon lead to 3D printing blood vessels and human organs. Guohao Dai, a bioengineering professor at Northeastern..."
categories:
  - "Medical AM"
  - "Medical Research"
  - "Research & Education"
tags:
  - "future"
image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/021325_AS_Guohao_Dai_001-640x426.jpeg
word_count: 572
---

# New bioprinting development may lead to 3D printed human organs

[According to Northeastern University](https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/02/20/3d-printed-blood-vessels/), a breakthrough in the bioprinting of living tissues could soon lead to 3D printing blood vessels and human organs. Guohao Dai, a bioengineering professor at Northeastern University, and his collaborators recently patented a new elastic hydrogel material designed for 3D printing of soft living tissues.

[Modern medicine uses 3D printing to](https://www.voxelmatters.com/voxelmatters-medical-am-focus-2024-ebook/) create hard implants [such as cranial plates](https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-systems-achieves-510k-clearance-for-peek-cranial-implants/), hip joints, limb prostheses, and medical devices. However, the 3D printing of organs and soft tissues is still a major challenge, says Dai, whose research focuses on 3D bioprinting, stem cells, and vascular bioengineering.

Soft tissues require elastic materials that can stretch and recoil  - something existing materials lack. “Elasticity is very important for maintaining the normal function of the tissue,” said Dai. Solving this challenge can revolutionize medicine and make organ transplants obsolete.

![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/021325_AS_Guohao_Dai_002.jpeg)Photo credit: Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University.

[Hydrogels are synthetic polymers](https://www.voxelmatters.com/researchers-3d-print-hydrogels-for-radiation-protection-in-space/) capable of holding water. They are used, for example, for facial masks that contain skin nutrients, wound dressings that deliver drugs, and soft contact lenses that contain significant amounts of water for comfort and oxygen transmission. According to Dai, traditional hydrogels are too fragile for 3D printing, as they can’t withstand stretching or twisting - limiting their medical applications.

To solve this issue, Dai partnered with Yi Hong from the University of Texas Arlington. While Hong found a way to make soft hydrogels elastic, Dai used his expertise in 3D printing to further modify certain properties of these hydrogels so they could go through a printer. To go through the printing nozzle, the material had to be liquid, but it also had to keep its shape after the object was printed.

The new material dissolves in a liquid solution and can encapsulate a large amount of water after printing. This is good for growing cells because it mimics the environment of the human body, which, on average, consists of 60% water.

Cells get infused into the liquid solution before printing. Once printed, the object is exposed to blue light - triggering a photochemical reaction that makes the gel elastic without harming the living cells.

![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Guohao_Dai_1400.jpeg)Photo credit: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University.

“You can print any geometry,” said Dai. ”You can print a tube or a blood vessel.” The cells then multiply and grow inside the printed structure. “We grow them under the pulsatile pressure to mimic the human’s blood pressure."

Another key advantage of the new elastic hydrogel is that it’s biodegradable. The goal was to make the polymer completely degradable - while cells replace it with their own collagen and elastin to form a strong, natural blood vessel. “It’s not native to your body, that is why we wanted it to eventually be gone completely,” said Dai.

So far, the printed blood vessels - cultured for two weeks - remain relatively weak and can’t yet withstand human blood pressure. Dai believes that extending the culturing period to two months - which is an expensive experiment - could allow the cells to fully develop a strong structure.

Additionally, the researchers are working to speed up hydrogel’s degradation - aiming for it to dissolve within two to three months while the cells mature into functional blood vessels. This technology is expected to eventually enable the creation of blood vessels for patients using their own cells. As the hydrogel degrades, the body will naturally replace it - resulting in [fully functional tissue or organs](https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-printed-lung-tissue-used-to-study-effects-of-toxic-vapors/).