Bioprint FirstAid: A handheld bioprinter for first aid utilization on space exploration missions

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Human exploratory missions to Moon or Mars are considered the next steps in human space exploration. Such activities result in the exposure of humans to the space environment for long time, especially under the constraints of orbital dynamics as with increasing distances from earth quick return possibilities are ruled out. Crews on these kinds of missions must be self-sustaining in medical treatments, as environmental conditions in space, such as the influence of altered gravity, radiation or isolation, raise health issues. Therefore, astronauts may use the here presented Handheld Bioprinter as part of the first-aid strategy for in situ wound treatment. The device consists of a handle capable of holding an exchangeable “Ink Printing Unit” containing two separate gel-like components (Bioink and Crosslinker), which are extruded during a printing process through a nozzle and form a skin-cell containing bioink band-aid. For ISS experiments cell simulants were used, as in-space experiments first demonstrated the general feasibility of handheld bioprinting under space conditions. On-ground human skin cells were mixed with the biogel, printed via the handheld bioprinter and cultivated, to demonstrate the overall feasibility of the “Bioprint FirstAid” technology. Concluding results were that a mobile, handheld tool like the bioprinter shows good applicability and offers a possibility of in situ wound treatment for in-space applications. The “Bioprint FirstAid” project was coordinated by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bonn and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)194-204
Number of pages11
JournalActa astronautica
Volume215
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-9075-5121/work/166323277

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • 3D-bioprinting, Biofabrication, Bioprint FirstAid, Cosmic kiss, ISS, Matthias maurer