2023-09-22 00:21:57
“We make the consumables for a 3D printer.” This is how Pedro Guerrero summarizes the activity of ProteinMat, a ‘startup’ created in 2021 to bring to the market the innovations in tissue engineering developed at Biomat, one of the research groups of the University of the Basque Country. As a first contact, the explanation is very good because it even refers us to something as familiar as the ink cartridge of a conventional printer and, from there, it is easier to jump to three-dimensional printing by superimposing layers of, for example , a polymer or a resin. This material is the “consumable” that Guerrero speaks of and in the case of ProteinMat it is bioinks with which to replicate cellular structures.
Proteinmat
As the industrial use of 3D printing matured, medical researchers noticed the health potential of some of its virtues, such as allowing production in very short series. It could, for example, be used to replace casts with splints perfectly adapted to each patient and, in addition, much lighter than plaster. Thus, they soon saw that its most promising feature was that the process seemed to work with many materials, from plastics to concrete to steel. So, why wouldn’t it also give good results in the manufacture of biological structures such as skin, bones, tendons or organs created even from the patient’s own cells? Why not replace the metal of hip prostheses with a biological material loaded with growth factors that facilitate bone regeneration around the implant?
Here we come to the “consumable”, which in bioprinting is a hydrogel – like gelatin threads that overlap until creating the desired structure – loaded with the most suitable biological material for each use. At this point, ProteinMat’s main innovation is to dispense with chemical processes – which in the future could compromise the biocompatibility of fabric made with them – and to produce its bioinks from food industry waste. “They are tremendously rich in proteins and polysaccharides, so they are natural, biocompatible and biodegradable materials,” explains Guerrero.
Next step
Today they offer generic bioinks but soon they hope to develop them for specific applications
squid feather
He speaks, for example, of collagen of bovine origin, gelatin from fish, cellulose extracted from soybeans, pectin obtained from lemon remains, chitosan from crustaceans and squid feathers or insect pulp provided by a fumigation company that breeds sterile male flies. Come on, biotechnology that uses abundant and cheap raw materials. “Bioinks are manufactured on demand in very small batches, so by requiring very little quantity, the circular economy was a very feasible option and it is something we are proud of,” emphasizes the founding partner of the startup.
This demand currently comes mainly from international and national biosanitary research centers, including Biocruces Bizkaia and Biodonostia. «They are very focused on the applications of the material but not so much on its obtaining. There is a big gap there, a gap that we want to cover. At the moment, in this first stage of the company, we provide them with a generic bioink that they modify depending on the specific application they want to give it. However, our next step will be to offer them bioinks already developed for a specific application, something more in line with our level of knowledge,” says Guerrero.
The company, which last year had a turnover of 23,000 euros and this year expects to reach 40,000, wants to expand its staff by hiring chemical engineers, biomedical and biotechnologists and a sales team. To achieve this, he is seeking funding of 400,000 euros and will present his project on October 17 and 18 at B-Venture, the startup forum organized by EL CORREO. The event, which this year celebrates its eighth edition, is sponsored by the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, the development agency SPRI, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Bilbao City Council, as well as the collaboration of BStartup of Banco Sabadell, BBVA Spark, BBK, Laboral Kutxa, CaixaBank and the University of Deusto.
Own health products
The knowledge developed in the production of bioinks has also allowed ProteinMat to develop its own health products. «We are currently working a lot on printing dressings for wounds of diabetic patients, so that they can cover the area with a film that absorbs suppuration while maintaining the level of humidity that the wound needs and avoiding the risk of infection. This lengthens the time that the patient can spend between cures, but if you also add a product that can improve healing, you greatly improve their quality of life,” says Pedro Guerrero, its founding partner.
On the other hand, they are working on formulas that facilitate the protein intake that those who suffer from dysphagia sometimes require. Difficulty swallowing greatly limits their diet and also the formats in which they can take supplements. «We have created gel tablets adapted to the needs of each patient that melt in the mouth. With the appropriate permits, it would also be possible to give them drugs,” he adds.
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