Xolography-based method enables 3D printing of living tissues with light

Xolography is a novel light printing technique that has been explored for dental products and in-space manufacturing. At Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), this technique has now been adapted to 3D print living cells.

This research can pave the way for 3D-printed kidneys and muscle tissue. The team pioneered the Xolography-based method to produce tiny structures with features as small as 20 µm – approximately the size of a human cell.

Is Xolography the technique that will enable a future of 3D-printed hearts and kidneys?

"Unfortunately, this is still entirely speculative for now, I'm afraid," cautions researcher Miguel Dias Castilho. "For now, we still view technology as a hacker space."

This pioneering spirit is perfectly reflected in the printer, an early tissue printing prototype, whose sheer orange acrylic casing reveals an inside of wires, projectors, copper coils, and tiny digital displays.

While it may seem speculative for now, the detailed and lightning-fast printing of living tissue in a suitcase-sized, orange 3D printer is completely real.

"Our research is a necessary first step for the future of tissue engineering. Right now, it can print more physiologically relevant 3D environments for cell culture, and in the long term, it could help make 3D-printed organs a reality," says Dias Castilho.

Image source: Bart van Overbeeke.