Tomsk scientists have invented a genomic printer

The working layout of the "genetic printer" was developed by scientists of the Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics (TUSUR). By the end of 2023, it is planned to bring the model to a prototype ready for production, eliminating all the shortcomings and finalizing several important nodes, Ruslan Gadirov, head of the laboratory of additive technologies and engineering biology, told TASS on Monday. Earlier, the press service of the university reported that TUSUR won a grant from the Ministry of Education and Science in the amount of 320 million rubles to create a "genetic printer".

The development will reduce the technological gap in the creation of an instrument base for genetic technologies.

"In a year and a half of work, we have created a working layout of the system. Its principle of operation is similar to an inkjet printer, only it has more channels: not four, but eight. The final version will be 16. By the end of the year, the third stage is planned: we will eliminate all the shortcomings, refine the software - everything so that there is a finished product, with fully finished working design documentation. This is the stage when the printer can already be put into production," Gadirov said.

He specified that the testing will be carried out by scientists in TUSUR together with colleagues from the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine (Novosibirsk).

"In this printer, the most difficult thing that no one has ever made in Russia before is piezoelectric dispensers. Currently, our REC is developing them. It is almost impossible to implement such a technology in a year, so for now we are testing the operation of the genomic printer on other dispensers. I think we will make a working version for the third stage," he said.