3D bioprinting is very significant in the field of medicine, industrial engineering, pharmacology and materials construction. This is the reason why researchers from the University of Nottingham created a bioprinted material that works seemingly like play dough. This material is capable of enabling protein and cell transfer.

Lead researcher of the study Professor Jing Yang said that 'bioprinting is a very hot topic in tissue engineering'. The problem is that the output requires a good printing environment and, currently, the bioprinted materials are not compatible with living cells; and if they are they don’t have enough properties for specific applications.

However, the new bioprinted material created by the researchers is a micro-particle paste that can be injected using the syringe. The new material can sustain strains and stress. Conventional bioprinting techniques involve the use of high heat or the use of strong organic solvents or ultraviolet light. The drawback to this technique is that it prevents the incorporation of the cells and other biomolecules during the fabrication process.

Since the new material was created using ambient temperature, it allows the materials to fuse together properly. Moreover, the cells and proteins can also work fast in fulfilling their specific functions. Currently, Yang and his research team are looking at the possibility of using the new material as an injectable bone defect filler. Aside from being a potential bone filler, the new material can also be used in creating biological scaffold to reconstruct larger defects such as nasal reconstruction. This new material looks very promising in medical reconstruction.