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Review
. 2024 Jun 21:12:1393641.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1393641. eCollection 2024.

Biomaterials for extrusion-based bioprinting and biomedical applications

Arianna Rossi  1 , Teresa Pescara  2 , Alberto Maria Gambelli  3 , Francesco Gaggia  2 , Amish Asthana  4 , Quentin Perrier  4 , Giuseppe Basta  2 , Michele Moretti  1 , Nicola Senin  1 , Federico Rossi  5 , Giuseppe Orlando  4 , Riccardo Calafiore  6
Affiliations
Review

Biomaterials for extrusion-based bioprinting and biomedical applications

Arianna Rossi et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Amongst the range of bioprinting technologies currently available, bioprinting by material extrusion is gaining increasing popularity due to accessibility, low cost, and the absence of energy sources, such as lasers, which may significantly damage the cells. New applications of extrusion-based bioprinting are systematically emerging in the biomedical field in relation to tissue and organ fabrication. Extrusion-based bioprinting presents a series of specific challenges in relation to achievable resolutions, accuracy and speed. Resolution and accuracy in particular are of paramount importance for the realization of microstructures (for example, vascularization) within tissues and organs. Another major theme of research is cell survival and functional preservation, as extruded bioinks have cells subjected to considerable shear stresses as they travel through the extrusion apparatus. Here, an overview of the main available extrusion-based printing technologies and related families of bioprinting materials (bioinks) is provided. The main challenges related to achieving resolution and accuracy whilst assuring cell viability and function are discussed in relation to specific application contexts in the field of tissue and organ fabrication.

Keywords: artificial tissues; biomaterials; biomedical applications; bioprinting; material extrusion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Historical timeline of bioprinting including the milestones of MEX-based bioprinting.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A) Biocompatible materials should be easily extruded and cast into well plates and other moulds. (B) Schematic representation of the biofabrication window with the relation between shape fidelity and polymer concentration, cross-linking density and stiffness. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Schematisation of an extruder for 3D bioprinting of bioink. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
(A) Example of a piston-based extrusion system; (B) strand of bioink (microfibrillar cellulose 1.5%) deposited by the piston-based system using increasing printing speeds (10 mm/s, 20 mm/s, 40 mm/s) and two different nozzle diameters (413 μm and 686 μm). Other process parameters were kept constant.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Schematic representation of the in situ handheld bioprinting technology used by Bella et al. for cartilage regeneration (Bella et al., 2018). Created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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