3D Printing in Regenerative Medicine: Technologies and Resources Utilized

Abstract

Over the past ten years, the use of additive manufacturing techniques, also known as “3D printing,” has steadily increased in a variety of scientific fields. There are a number of inherent advantages to these fabrication methods over conventional manufacturing due to the way that they work, which is based on the layer-by-layer material-deposition principle. These benefits include the accurate attribution of complex, pre-designed shapes, as well as the use of a variety of innovative raw materials. Its main advantage is the ability to fabricate custom shapes with an interior lattice network connecting them and a porous surface that traditional manufacturing techniques cannot adequately attribute. Such structures are being used for direct implantation into the human body in the biomedical field in areas such as bio-printing, where this potential is being heavily utilized. The fabricated items must be made of biomaterials with the proper mechanical properties, as well as biomaterials that exhibit characteristics such as biocompatibility, bioresorbability, and biodegradability, in order to meet the strict requirements that such procedures impose. The most significant biomaterials used in these techniques are listed in this work, but their advantages and disadvantages are also discussed in relation to the aforementioned properties that are crucial to their use.

Fabrication and Thermal Performance of a Polymer-Based Flexible Oscillating Heat Pipe via 3D Printing Technology

“…According to our previous studies [ 12 , 22 , 42 ], we adopted a filling-back method to fill the working fluid into the 3D-printed FOHP. The FOHP was first evacuated to a vacuum below 5 Pa, and then the working fluid was charged into the entire FOHP by the pressure difference.…”

“…Many thermoplastic polymer materials were applied for FDM printing, such as polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), etc. Due to its fast production, low cost, and capability to create complex parts, FDM technology is widely used in the automotive industry, shipbuilding, aerospace, regenerative medicine, and other fields [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. In this work, a 3D-printed flexible oscillating heat pipe (FOHP) with a size of 87 mm × 25 mm × 5 mm was designed and fabricated using thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) as the raw material, according to the technical features of 3D printing rapid manufacturing.…”

Biodegradable Scaffolds for Vascular Regeneration Based on Electrospun Poly(L-Lactide-co-Glycolide)/Poly(Isosorbide Sebacate) Fibers

“…However, its rapid biodegradation (6–8 weeks) and low mechanical properties limit its functionality [ 7 ]. Another polyester, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), is a beneficial biomaterial due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low cost, but it is known to release acidic by-products when it degrades [ 8 , 9 ]. To improve the performance of PGA and PLA, glycolide units can be co-polymerized with L-lactide units, resulting in the formation of poly(L-lactide- co -glycolide) (PLGA) [ 10 ].…”

Bio-Inspired Materials: Exhibited Characteristics and Integration Degree in Bio-Printing Operations

“…Bio-printing techniques exhibit high potential in this field, by being able to provide dimensional stability, reproducibility, and the fabrication of pre-designed interconnected porosity networks at distinct sizes (Moroni et al, 2006;Amirkhani et al, 2012). Several published works describe cases of bio-printed scaffold structures (Moroni et al, 2006;Leong et al, 2003;Gauvin et al, 2012;Kantaros, 2022). Stages of the bioprinting process are depicted in Fig.…”