On September 29th, a few of the graduate and undergraduate students from the lab had the chance to visit Materic in Balitmore, MD. The lab is collaborating with Materic to work towards the development of GMP grade nipple-areolar complexs (NACs) for Amal’s project. During the visit, the group was able to tour the site, look at some of the 3D printers and other fabrication devices, and visit the GMP facility where sterile prints are produced. Materic’s facility houses a full suite of SLS, SLA, FDM, and DLP 3D printing technologies.

For some context on Amal’s project – the nipple-areolar complex (NAC) is the structure on the chest that is composed of the nipple and areola. Breast tissue is lost when breast cancer patients undergo a mastectomy to remove cancerous tissue from the breast. Restoration of this tissue is meant to improve patient satisfaction and boost the long term psychological health of these patients. Materic is using stereolithography to fabricate the more rigid part of the scaffold that is meant to provide the mechanical strength needed to maintain the NAC scaffold long term. Extrusion bioprinting will be used to fabricate the softer part of the tissue that is meant to integrate with the body.