Candy Coating Inspires Lab-Grown Blood Vessels

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Candy Coating Inspires Lab-Grown Blood Vessels

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 2, 2012 @08:25AM from the tastes-healthy dept.

sciencehabit writes "Scientists have developed a water-soluble carbohydrate glass based on a decoration used on cakes and lollipops. The material can be cast into a variety of shapes, is completely nontoxic, and, when it has done its job, will dissolve naturally in the moist environment of lab-grown tissue, leaving behind spaces that can carry blood to cells. The advance solves one of the major problems of growing new organs in the laboratory."

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LAB GROWN ORGANS!!!! by rolfwind · 2012-07-02 08:29 · Score: 2

WITH FREE DIABEETUS INSIDE!!!
Still a long way by i+kan+reed · 2012-07-02 08:36 · Score: 1

This still is a long way from complex superstructures like kidneys and lungs, but it's a promising development.
1. Re:Still a long way by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 08:47 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Thanks for that informative post. Taught me a lot.
2. Re:Still a long way by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 08:55 · Score: 0
  
  Yep, they have to get a 3D printer squirting the stuff.
Sweet! by gestalt_n_pepper · 2012-07-02 08:36 · Score: 2

Oh come on. You know someone had to say it.

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1. Re:Sweet! by tzot · 2012-07-02 20:04 · Score: 1
  
  The TFA had this title: "A sweet way to grow blood vessels", so I am not sure what you added to the mix.
  
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Yummm.... by null+etc. · 2012-07-02 08:40 · Score: 1

Vampire snacks! Like cherry-filled chocolates.
WHAT I TELL MY GF !! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 08:47 · Score: 0

But she says she'll have none of it !!
Yeah, but this is true !!
Ugh... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 08:50 · Score: 0

You sound fat.
It's not corn syrup by tlambert · 2012-07-02 08:52 · Score: 1

United States Patent 5,356,635: "wherein the carbohydrate comprises sucrose, lactose, maltose or cellobiose"
So it should be relatively biologically inter, not triger IgE reactions due to allergies, and will most likely be dissolved out prior to implantation, in any case, unless there's a pressing time requirement that necessitates it going in before the scaffolding is totally gone.
1. Re:It's not corn syrup by Anarchduke · 2012-07-02 14:54 · Score: 1
  
  + on the internet. Now I can get my own patent!
  
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Everybody sing by davidwr · 2012-07-02 09:16 · Score: 3, Funny

Who can take a stem cell (background singers echo: The Candy Man)....

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1. Re:Everybody sing by wierd_w · 2012-07-02 21:56 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Who can take a stem cell... And cover it with goo?
  Whip it in a blender and make a liver made for you?
  The candy man! The candy man can!
  Who make IPS culture, and slather it with Gly....
  Shape it in a scaffold and make a kidney for some guy?
  The candy man! The candy man can!
Video of 3D Sugar Printing for this project by jmil · 2012-07-02 09:31 · Score: 5, Informative

Here's an official video overview from University of Pennsylvania: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VHFlwJQIkE

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Who puts cotton candy on cakes and lollopops? by snowraver1 · 2012-07-02 09:58 · Score: 2

I assume this is the same research as this story here:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16599-cotton-candy-makes-sweet-blood-vessel-copies.html

I saw a video of this on the newscast, and they guy had a $50 cotton candy machine on his lab table with a "DO NOT EAT" sign attached.

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1. Re:Who puts cotton candy on cakes and lollopops? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 10:07 · Score: 0
  
  If only there was some kind of article, conveniently linked, which explained what was actually done...
  (Hint: You assumed wrong.)
2. Re:Who puts cotton candy on cakes and lollopops? by snowraver1 · 2012-07-02 10:40 · Score: 1
  
  I read the article, and there is no mention of the process they use. I provided my reference, so ball in your court , AC.
  
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3. Re:Who puts cotton candy on cakes and lollopops? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-04 23:43 · Score: 0
  
  About halfway through the article there's a conspicuous link to an abstract of the actual study on Nature Materials. That is the "article, conveniently linked" that I was referring to. (The whole report should be freely available soonish.)
  http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nmat3357.html
  The process they employed uses a modified RepRap 3D printer to create rather precise 3D networks of sugar filaments.
Where the technology will be used... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 10:21 · Score: 0

The investors called this morning. They want to know if we can grow "really large penises".
"No way. Say it isn't true."
"Do we have any 12 inch long petri dishes?"
A blood vessel isn't just empty space though by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 10:37 · Score: 0

A blood vessel isn't just empty space though. It has walls that expand and contract in response to various conditions. I assume normal vessels also resist intrusion. It seems like organs that are simply using "dug canals" to get blood might end up with cells filling the canals. Also, when normal organs in your body are responding to vascular stimulus, these guys will just sit there. It's an interesting idea though. Maybe they'll grow real vessels by pumping the right kind of stem cell into these voids, using them as a scaffold.
1. Re:A blood vessel isn't just empty space though by Ungrounded+Lightning · 2012-07-02 12:00 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  A blood vessel isn't just empty space though. It has walls that expand and contract in response to various conditions. I assume normal vessels also resist intrusion.
  As I read it this process does one of the following:
  - reserves the space for the blood vessels to grow into a bit later (and perhaps marks it with growth factors to encourage vascularization along the paths.)
  - provides a scaffold around which the blood vessels form, then dissolves away to leave the resulting vessels open.
  
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So, how many... by Chris+Mattern · 2012-07-02 10:44 · Score: 1

...licks does it take to get to the center of a heart attack?
Built with a RepRap! by MauiJerry · 2012-07-02 12:16 · Score: 1

Hack-a-Day also carries the story ... http://hackaday.com/2012/07/02/printing-organs-with-a-3d-printer/ Jordan Miller is one of the lead researchers at UPenn - and a major contributor to RepRap and other Open Source 3D Printing. The HackaDay post links to the UPenn press release, and embeds the video linked earlier.
Carbohydrate glass, you say? by russotto · 2012-07-02 12:22 · Score: 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glass
Wow! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-02 13:05 · Score: 0

This breakthrought is absolutely SWEET!