IIT Hyderabad
--Must See--

Bioinformatics Summer Internship 2024 With Hands-On-Training + Project / Dissertation - 30 Days, 3 Months & 6 Months Duration

IIT Hyderabad scientist find a cheap way for 3D print stem cells from eel skin collagen 

Just the way your skeleton holds your body posture, Collagen imitates the same at a cellular level. Collagen is a protein found abundantly in humans performing various functions like maintaining skin elasticity, keeping teeth healthy, and providing structural support in connective tissue. Without this, the cells will not be able to connect and form tissues.

Collagen also plays a very crucial role in tissue engineering. The ultimate aim of this technology is to harness the potent, regenerative nature of stem cells to create artificial tissues for implants and other applications. Just like a building under construction, stem cells are held in place by a collagen scaffolding while they proliferate and transform into specialized tissue.

The primary source of this protein is from animal sources like rat tails, pigskin, and bovine skin. These sources are expensive and are highly prone to infections and various pathological conditions.

The scientists from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad, have come up with an inexpensive, eco-friendly method to derive Collagen from Eel Skin and used it effectively to 3D print stem cells

3D print stem cells
IIT Hyderabad Research Team

According to

Dr.Govindharaj, Marine animals thrive in a very challenging environment making their Collagen more resilient and highly bioactive. This promotes the speedy growth of stem cells.

As published in their recent paper in The Journal for Cleaner Production, the method used to derive Collagen from eel skin was by treating it with cetic acid, common salt, and pepsin.

This method is safe, reduces waste build up in Oceans. Using the eel skin also prevents spreading of toxins and diseases. The use of abundantly available marine eel skin to extract valuable Collagen, i.e., volarisation is what makes this research ” Blue.”

The method as explained by Dr. Govindharaj, The stems cells can be extracted from the bone marrow of the Patient. These stem cells are then mixed with Collagen and 3D-printed into a matrix in which they grow into the desired tissue.

Dr. Mano Govindharaj, Dr. Subha Narayan Rath and Mr. Uday Kiran Roopavath responsible for developing low-cost stem cells 3D printing is now working on extending their technique to derive more “blue” Collagen from other marine waste sources like fish skin. They hope that their research provides a practical approach both to protect marine environments and improve human health

Source

Author: Swetha Kulkarni

Perfection is her hobby, Reliability is a synonym, Editing is her passion, Excellence is her Goal, Tactfulness is in her genes, Yellow is her Fav color. Preety is the name of the Professional on whom entire BioTecNika relies when it comes to its website. A Gold Medalist in Biotech from SRM University, Chennai with a 9.9 CGPA ( was awarded the Gold Medal by Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi , as seen in the pic ), She decided to join forces with BioTecNika to ensure India's largest BioSciences Portal expands its reach to every city in India. She has redesigned the new avatar of BioTecNika from scratch and heads the most dynamic, vibrant and well informed Online Team at Biotecnika Info Labs Pvt Ltd