​Towards biologically relevant synthetic designer matrices in 3D bioprinting for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

3D bioprinting is one of the most promising technologies in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. As new printing techniques and bioinks are getting developed, new cellular constructs with high resolution and functionality arise. Different to bioinks of animal, algal or plant origin, synthesized bioinks are proposed as superior biomaterials because their characteristics are fully under control. In this review, we will highlight the potential of synthetic biomaterials to be used as bioinks in 3D bioprinting to produce functionally enhanced matrices.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cobme.2017.05.001

3D bioprinting Bioinks Synthetic scaffolds Tissue reconstruction Hydrogels Scaffold functionalization Biomedical engineering