---
title: "Researchers 3D print tiny human blood vessel structures"
url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/researchers-3d-print-tiny-human-blood-vessel-structures/
date: 2024-12-02
modified: 2024-12-02
lang: en
author: "Edward Wakefield"
description: "According to the University of Strathclyde, a study that harnesses a pioneering 3D printing technique to create tiny human blood vessel structures could eventually help end animal drug testing. The..."
categories:
  - "Bioprinting"
  - "Medical Research"
  - "Research & Education"
tags:
  - "future"
image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/xMicrovasculature_Will_Shu_in-640x240.webp
word_count: 361
---

# Researchers 3D print tiny human blood vessel structures

[According to the University of Strathclyde](https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/news/2024/breakthrough3dprintingtechnologycouldbringendofanimaldrugtestingastepcloser/), a study that harnesses a pioneering 3D printing technique to create tiny human blood vessel structures could eventually help end animal drug testing. The research, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, focuses on crafting microvasculature - small vessels critical for tissue health - that measure just 70 micrometers (smaller than a human hair). The new method - called PRINCESS (PRINting Cell Embedded Sacrificial Strategy) – uses a special type of DNA [hydrogel as a biolubricant](https://www.voxelmatters.com/nc-state-3d-prints-light-activated-hydrogel-actuators/), to successfully print the smallest microvasculature to date.

The research team, led by the University of Strathclyde, says that being able to print human tissues at scale to create a more sophisticated drug screening platform could eventually end the use of animals in drug testing, which isn’t always accurate in showing what’s happening in the human body. With more funded research, they also say that their model created [using human cells](https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-printing-used-to-realistically-replicate-human-ear/) could reduce costs and be more effective - saving [the global pharmaceutical industry](https://www.voxelmatters.com/adare-and-laxxon-enter-pharmaceutical-3d-printing-collaboration/) billions of dollars.

“Animal testing is not always a good predictor of human response to a drug, so there is a need to develop a more realistic human testing mechanism, and microvasculature is a key facet of that. The ability to build intricate vascular networks is crucial for the creation of thick tissues, one of the grand challenges — or 'Holy Grails' — of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine," said Professor Will Shu, Hay Chair and head of a leading research group at the University of Strathclyde. "Our new strategy offers an exciting new way for producing engineered human tissues or mini organs in the lab, that could eventually replace the use of animals."

Professor Shu says that the technology also offers great potential to create [new human disease models](https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-printing-shows-potential-to-cure-neurological-diseases/), with promising progress already seen in applications for heart diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s.

The study, in collaboration with Tsinghua University in Beijing, was funded by UKRI (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council) and NC3Rs, a UK-based scientific organization that works with the research community to replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research and testing.