Abstract
Advanced bioinks for 3D printing are rationally designed materials intended to improve the functionality of printed scaffolds outside the traditional paradigm of the “biofabrication window”. While the biofabrication window paradigm necessitates compromise between suitability for fabrication and ability to accommodate encapsulated cells, recent developments in advanced bioinks have resulted in improved designs for a range of biofabrication platforms without this tradeoff. This has resulted in a new generation of bioinks with high print fidelity, shear-thinning characteristics, and crosslinked scaffolds with high mechanical strength, high cytocompatibility, and the ability to modulate cellular functions. In this review, we describe some of the promising strategies being pursued to achieve these goals, including multimaterial, interpenetrating network, nanocomposite, and supramolecular bioinks. We also provide an overview of current and emerging trends in advanced bioink synthesis and biofabrication, and evaluate the potential applications of these novel biomaterials to clinical use.
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This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Award No. HRD-1406755 and CBET-1264848 and NIH R01 AR066033-01.
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Associate Editor Michael S. Detamore oversaw the review of this article.
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Chimene, D., Lennox, K.K., Kaunas, R.R. et al. Advanced Bioinks for 3D Printing: A Materials Science Perspective. Ann Biomed Eng 44, 2090–2102 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1638-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1638-y