The goal of the LOEWE research cluster FLOW FOR LIFE is to develop an artificial network that transports oxygen and nutrients within lab-grown human tissue of a centimeter size scale. Combining engineering with biological principles, and synthetic with biological materials, the project brings together experts and infrastructure from five engineering and natural science departments at the TU Darmstadt.

The group of biomedical printing technology is taking part in two aspects of the project:

First, in the fabrication of a porous artificial vessel network with a state-of-the-art, highly resolved 3D-print system (2-photon-polymerisation), with the aim of providing the tissue models with sufficient oxygen and nutrients during cell culture. Later on, we also develop new bioinks and biofabrication technologies to place live cells around the artificial network.