"The gel, which has the consistency of hand sanitiser, is made of an acrylic acid polymer. It works like a scaffold, allowing the printing of intricate patterns that would collapse without its support – such as nested Russian-doll-like structures and thin, complex branching networks.
“This complexity is important. Researchers have long wanted to 3D-print whole human organs, but these need fine, dividing systems of blood vessels to supply them with oxygen and nutrients. The new technique enables printing at the right dimensions to do this, creating structurally sound spheres as thin as two sheets of paper and strands about 10 times thinner by embedding the objects in gel.”
“Gel scaffold paves way for 3D printing of biological organs”