Researchers at ETH Zurich Study 3D Printed Breast Tissue

Unfortunately, research on the female body, particularly concerning health, remains largely neglected. Researchers at ETH Zurich now want to change this with their groundbreaking study of breast milk cells. Specifically, how breast milk is produced within the body has not yet been sufficiently investigated scientifically. The team led by Marcy Zenobi-Wong hopes that the project will yield valuable insights into female biology. It is intriguing to see the production of breast milk tissue, which the researchers created using 3D printing technologies.

Breast milk is specifically tailored to the nutritional needs of infants. However, how these customized needs are met and how milk is produced in the first place remains understudied. This is a mystery that Zenobi-Wong’s team is attempting to solve. They first began to isolate cells from human breast milk, known as lactocytes, which are responsible for milk production in breast tissue. The team placed these in artificial miniature milk ducts. The material used for this is derived from bovine udder tissue and contains similar components to human breast tissue.

Many mothers have problems breastfeeding, yet the issue has not received much scientific attention to date (Image: Blick)

3D Printing Enables the Production of Special Tissue Structures

The team used the cells from the bovine tissue to construct a liquid biomaterial. In a process similar to stereolithography, the material was selectively cured by a laser. In just a few minutes, artificial milk ducts or alveoli were created. The ducts were then enriched with extracted cells from human breast tissue, which were stored inside the ducts.