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Review
. 2018 Nov 16;10(11):1278.
doi: 10.3390/polym10111278.

Natural Polymers for Organ 3D Bioprinting

Fan Liu  1   2 , Qiuhong Chen  3 , Chen Liu  4 , Qiang Ao  5 , Xiaohong Tian  6 , Jun Fan  7 , Hao Tong  8 , Xiaohong Wang  9   10
Affiliations
Review

Natural Polymers for Organ 3D Bioprinting

Fan Liu et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, known as a promising technology for bioartificial organ manufacturing, has provided unprecedented versatility to manipulate cells and other biomaterials with precise control their locations in space. Over the last decade, a number of 3D bioprinting technologies have been explored. Natural polymers have played a central role in supporting the cellular and biomolecular activities before, during and after the 3D bioprinting processes. These polymers have been widely used as effective cell-loading hydrogels for homogeneous/heterogeneous tissue/organ formation, hierarchical vascular/neural/lymphatic network construction, as well as multiple biological/biochemial/physiological/biomedical/pathological functionality realization. This review aims to cover recent progress in natural polymers for bioartificial organ 3D bioprinting. It is structured as introducing the important properties of 3D printable natural polymers, successful models of 3D tissue/organ construction and typical technologies for bioartificial organ 3D bioprinting.

Keywords: 3D bioprinting; implantable bioartificial organs; natural polymers; organ manufacturing; rapid prototyping (RP); regenerative medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure units of alginate molecule [42].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Molecular structure of gelatin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structure unit of hyaluronic acid (HA).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic diagram of collagen molecule.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic structures of fibrinogen and fibrin [121].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Molecular structure of chitosan [122].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Molecular structure of agarose.
Figure 8
Figure 8
A large scale-up 3D printed vascularized organ (i.e., adipose tissue) constructed through the double-nozzle (syringe) 3D bioprinter: (a) The 3D printer; (b) a computer-aided design (CAD) model containing a branched vascular network; (c) a CAD model containing the branched vascular network; (d) 3D bioprinting with ADSCs encapsulated in the gelatin/alginate/fibrin hydrogel and hepatocytes encapsulated in the gelatin/alginate/chitosan hydrogel before epidermal growth factor (EGF) engagement, immunostaining with pyrindine (PI) for cell nuclei in red; (e) several 3D printed layers of the construct; (f) half an ellipse of the 3D construct; (g) hepatocytes in the gelatin-based hydrogel after 3D bioprinting; (h) hepatocytes in a 3D printed fiber; (i) hepatocytes in a grid structure; (j) hepatocytes in a magnificant image, the crosslinked alginate/fibrin fibers can be observed; (k) ADSCs in the gelatin-based hydrogel after 3D bioprinting before growth factor engagement; (l) ADSCs in the gelatin-based hydrogel after 3D bioprinting after EGF engagement, CD31 immunofluorescence staining endothelial cells on day 10 after EGF engagement. Most cells located on the walls of the go-through channels were CD31 positive cells with bright color (i.e., mature endothelial cells).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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