Session A3
Paper #6075
Disclaimer — This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is
based on publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used
for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering
students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING AUTONOMOUS SELF-ASSEMBLY 3D
BIOPRINTING AND ITS IMPACT ON PATIENTS NEEDING KIDNEY
TRANSPLANTS
Nicholas Anastasi, naa69@pitt.edu, Sanchez 10:00, Tyler Bray, tjb100@pitt.edu, Vidic 2:00
Revised Proposal —
This paper will focus on the importance of developing the
3D Bioprinting technique of autonomous self-assembly and
how it will impact patients in need of kidney transplants. 3D
printing is a form of additive manufacturing where a printer
extrudes layers of a given material and the product is
created from the ground up[1]. Bioprinting is a form of 3D
printing that uses organic materials, which are more
hospitable to the human body, instead of the standard plastic
or metal. As a subset of Bioprinting, autonomous selfassembly is a technique that uses stem cells to replicate
biological tissues. Autonomous self-assembly separates itself
from other forms of bioprinting because it does not require
the use of a tissue scaffold. Autonomous self-assembly uses
differentiable stem cells to direct the composition and
localization, along with the functional and structural
properties of the newly grown tissue[2]. By printing these
differentiable stem cells, the end goal is to be able to grow
organs for transplantation instead of needing donated
organs.
The significance of this technology cannot be overstated, as
it has the potential to save millions of lives throughout the
world. In America alone, an average of twenty-two people
die each day waiting for an organ transplant. Of those
waiting for a transplant, roughly five out of every six are in
need of a healthy kidney[3]. It is extremely important to
advance the technology of autonomous self-assembly
because it has the potential to provide a kidney for all those
in need of one while simultaneously eliminating the need for
kidney donors. By doing this, autonomous self-assembly has
the potential to save the healthcare industry millions of
dollars in treatment and procedural costs[4]. Ultimately,
this technology has both positive economic and life-saving
implications.
Although capable of producing hollow organs, like bladders,
and other less complicated structures such as blood vessels
and skin grafts, autonomous self-assembly technology is not
currently at the level needed to produce organs comprised of
thick tissues, such as kidneys[5]. One of the major
advantages of this technique is not needing a scaffold, a
modified donated organ or a separate biofabricated support
structure, in order to manufacture a new organ. Since
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering 1
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bioengineering heavily involves using engineering
techniques to improve the health of others, autonomous selfassembly could become the quintessence of the profession in
the coming decades.
This paper will explore the existing Bioprinting technology
and its potential for the future through the use of various
scientific journals and research companies, such as the
Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, that are
currently working in this field. The paper will then elaborate
on why the development of this technology is in such high
demand, particularly for patients waiting for a kidney, and
will do so by looking at the current steps patients must go
through to acquire a new kidney. Finally, the pros, cons, and
ethical concerns of the development of autonomous selfassembly will be analyzed by reviewing current medical
news articles, books, and studies relative to the topic[6].
REFERENCES SECTION
[1] “3D Printing Basics.” 3Ders.org. (2012). (Online
Article).
http://www.3ders.org/3d-printingbasics.html#what-is-3d-printing
[2] S.V. Murphy, A. Atala. (2014, August 5). “3D
Bioprinting of tissues and organs.” Nature Biotechnology.
(Online Article).
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n8/full/nbt.2958.htm
l#materials-and-scaffolds
[3] “The Need is Real: Data.” U.S. Department of Health &
Human
Services.
(2016).
(Online
Article).
http://www.organdonor.gov/about/data.html
[4] M. Varkey, A. Atala. (2015, April). “Organ Bioprinting:
A Closer Look at Ethics and Policies.” Wake Forest Journal
of Law & Policy 5 Wake Forest J. L. &Po. (Online Journal).
p.275
http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/wfjlap
o5&div=15&g_sent=1&collection=journals
[5] I. Armstrong-Smith, R. Gallagher. (2014, June 15).
“Thinking About Printing in the 4th Dimension.”
Biotechnology Innovation Organization. (Online Article).
http://www.biotech-now.org/health/2014/06/thinking-aboutprinting-in-the-4th-dimension
Nicholas Anastasi
Tyler Bray
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
between standard bioprinting and self-assembly bioprinting.
These differences are exemplified in the article through a
discussion of the various forms of bioprinting and how they
are utilized to create structures, such as vascular networks.
This source will assist us in explaining why self-assembly is
superior to other forms of bioprinting.
I. Armstrong-Smith, R. Gallagher. (2014, June 15).
“Thinking About Printing in the 4th Dimension.”
Biotechnology Innovation Organization. (Online Article).
http://www.biotech-now.org/health/2014/06/thinking-aboutprinting-in-the-4th-dimension
This news article, published by a possibly biased
biotechnology trade organization, theorizes potential
advancements in the field of bioprinting, such as 4D
printing. The article elaborates on how applications such as
self-assembling organs can revolutionize the field and
greatly improve modern medical practices. We will use this
source to provide a view of self-assembly through the eyes
of the biotech companies with which we will explore the
future of this technology.
S.V. Murphy, A. Atala. (2014, August 5). “3D Bioprinting
of tissues and organs.” Nature Biotechnology. (Online
Article).
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n8/full/nbt.2958.htm
l#materials-and-scaffolds
This article, from a peer edited academic journal,
discusses in depth bioprinting techniques, including
autonomous self-assembly, along with its advantages and
disadvantages. The journal also discusses ideal properties of
bioprinted materials and the potential that bioprinting has for
surgical applications in the future. We will use this source to
explain how bioprinting works, the challenges that it poses
to engineers and scientists such as host rejection, and the
promise it has for the future.
A. Atala. (March 2011). “Printing a Human Kidney.” TED.
(Online
Video).
https://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human
_kidney?language=en
Dr. Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute of
Regenerative Medicine demonstrates an early-stage
bioprinted kidney experiment that could someday solve our
world’s organ-donor problem. This TED Talk shows the
current applications that bioprinting has in medicine, such as
a bioprinted bladder, as well as its potential for the coming
years. This source delves into bioprinting, the world’s
necessity for it, and how it will be shaping the medical field
in the future.
“The Need is Real: Data.” U.S. Department of Health &
Human
Services.
(2016).
(Online
Article).
http://www.organdonor.gov/about/data.html
This article, from a cabinet-level governmental
department, details various statistics regarding multiple
aspects of organ donation. These statistics include facts
regarding gender, race, and likelihood of survival in relation
to the need for organ donors. This source clarifies how to
interpret the statistics that it presents. Facts from this source
will help us quantitatively analyze the impact that organ
donations can have on patients’ lives.
[6] J. Brinkman. (2015). “Choosing Your Topic Video.”
University
of
Pittsburgh.
(Online
Video).
http://www.library.pitt.edu/other/files/il/fresheng/index.html
“Epidemiology of kidney disease in the United States.”
United States Renal Data System. (2015). (Online Data
Report ). http://www.usrds.org/2015/view/Default.aspx
The USRDS is a national organization funded by the
National Institutes of Health and National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This source
has many chapters of valuable information pertaining to
multiple focuses of the paper. Topics including chronic
kidney disease, transplant and care information, and its
medical costs to patients and the healthcare system will be
used to analyze the potential economic impact bioprinting
can make on the healthcare system.
M. Varkey, A. Atala. (2015, April). “Organ Bioprinting: A
Closer Look at Ethics and Policies.” Wake Forest Journal of
Law & Policy 5 Wake Forest J. L. &Po. (Online Journal).
p.275
http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/wfjlap
o5&div=15&g_sent=1&collection=journals
This ethics piece was published by a small research
focused, liberal-arts university in its Law and Policy
academic journal. This article discusses the ethics of
bioprinting and whether or not the technology will be
beneficial to society, along with a brief history of bioprinting
and an analysis of the applications of such technologies.
Ideas from this source will be used to decipher the pros and
cons of bioprinting and identify its impacts on society.
K. Jakab, F. Marga, C. Norotte, K. Murphy, G. VunjakNovakovic, G. Forgacs. (2010, June 2). “Tissue Engineering
by self-assembly and bio-printing of living cells.” US
National Library of Medicine. (Online Journal).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3635954/
This digital manuscript from the world's largest
biomedical library compares and contrasts the differences
“3D Printing Basics.” 3Ders.org. (2012). (Online Article).
http://www.3ders.org/3d-printing-basics.html#what-is-3dprinting
This news article, from a private online news
organization which specializes in 3D printing technologies,
describes the history of 3D printing and how it has arisen
from traditional 2D printing. Additionally, this source
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Nicholas Anastasi
Tyler Bray
elaborates on the different types of 3D printers which are
currently in use and being developed. We will use this
source to describe the process of 3D printing and to
differentiate it from bioprinting.
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