3D Bioprinting tissue analogs: Current development and translational implications

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a promising and rapidly evolving technology in the field of additive manufacturing. It enables the fabrication of living cellular constructs with complex architectures that are suitable for various biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering, disease modeling, drug screening, and precision regenerative medicine. The ultimate goal of bioprinting is to produce stable, anatomically-shaped, human-scale functional organs or tissue substitutes that can be implanted. Although various bioprinting techniques have emerged to develop customized tissue-engineering substitutes over the past decade, several challenges remain in fabricating volumetric tissue constructs with complex shapes and sizes and translating the printed products into clinical practice. Thus, it is crucial to develop a successful strategy for translating research outputs into clinical practice to address the current organ and tissue crises and improve patients’ quality of life. This review article discusses the challenges of the existing bioprinting processes in preparing clinically relevant tissue substitutes. It further reviews various strategies and technical feasibility to overcome the challenges that limit the fabrication of volumetric biological constructs and their translational implications. Additionally, the article highlights exciting technological advances in the 3D bioprinting of anatomically shaped tissue substitutes and suggests future research and development directions. This review aims to provide readers with insight into the state-of-the-art 3D bioprinting techniques as powerful tools in engineering functional tissues and organs.

Development of Biocompatible 3D-Printed Artificial Blood Vessels through Multidimensional Approaches

“…Furthermore, by supporting the growth of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells in the vicinity of the transplant site and regulating inflammatory responses, these bioprinted structures can perform endothelial functions. Thus, artificial blood vessels that mimic features akin to those found in the body can fulfill roles such as nutrient supply, blood flow regulation, prevention of blood clotting, long-term survival of endothelial cells, and preservation of vascular functionality within engineered structures [48,[176][177][178]. While each method possessed unique strengths and faced its own set of challenges, researchers continued to refine and amalgamate these techniques to craft functional and biocompatible blood vessel constructs for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [179] (Figure 4).…”

The use of fluid-phase 3D printing to pattern alginate-gelatin hydrogel properties to guide cell growth and behaviour in vitro

“…However, more complex biomedical fields, such as tissue engineering and organ regeneration, are still in their clinical infancy. The complexity of the process involved in replicating tissue's characteristics, ethical issues, and the absence of regulatory frameworks are some of the reasons for a lack of clinical translation of bioprinted tissues and/or organs to date [2,3]. To successfully promote tissue formation in vitro through 3D bioprinting technology, multiple parameters are required, such as (1) the choice of the biomaterial or bioink and possible combination of different materials; (2) the addition of different extracellular matrix (ECM) and other biological molecules to the scaffold to modulate cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, differentiation, and specialization; (3) the best 3D printing technology to ensure cell viability and printability of the designed scaffolds; (4) the crosslinking protocol to secure the printing stability allowing tissue growth and control of the degradability rate; (5) the cell type and seeding protocol.…”