Bioprinting: The Current Development of This Additive Manufacturing and Future Challenges

Abstract

Currently, thousands of people are on long organ transplant lists waiting for heart transplants, liver transplants, kidney transplants, etc. However, there aren’t enough organ donors to feel the demand. Bioprinting, a branch of regenerative medicine that includes designing and fabricating 3D printed organs for individual patients using their cells, is a solution for organ shortages currently under research. This emerging technology uses bioink, a printable material containing living cells to produce living tissues, bones, blood vessels, and critical organs like the heart, kidney, liver, skin, etc., layer by layer. Engineering bioinks for extrusion bioprinting, where the bioinks flow through a nozzle and remain localized upon deposition, has made significant strides. The ability of bio-fabrication to replicate the big organs and vasculatures of humans has also been astounding. The article aims to address the advances in selected areas such as novel bioinks development, extrusion bioprinting, bioprinting of human scale tissues, tissue engineering, and bioprinting of stem cells, all of which will help to progress the field of bioprinting. Moreover, there is a controversial ethical debate on transplantation, and enhancement of animal and human welfare. So far successes have been made in engineering simple tissues but the sophisticated, thick tissues remain a challenge. Thereafter, numerous research teams all across the world are developing new processes and procedures to create complex tissues. This article also highlights the current status and future challenges bioprinting faces, such as defining standardized characterization of bioprinted structures.