3D Bioprinting
“3D Bioprinting” or “bioprinting” is a form of additive manufacturing that uses cells and biomaterials instead of traditional metals and plastics to create 3D constructs like functional 3D tissues and biocompatible materials.
3D Bioprinting has enabled numerous researchers and manufacturers to mimic the natural tissue microenvironment into an in-house printed 3D tissue model.
Bio-printing tissues and organs for clinical use and have gained significant interest in medicine and pharmaceuticals. It is projected to have an immense impact on the field of medicine and healthcare
Applications
The applications include developing bio-inks that mimic the composition of our tissues. Bioprinting can be applied to a variety of areas including but not limited to regenerative medicine, drug discovery and development, and 3D cell culture.
Besides, bioprinting technology has a broad utility in various application areas such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (RM), transplantation, cancer research and drug screening, and high-throughput assays.
Bioprinters are being used to manufacture scaffolds and fabricate anatomically correct patient-specific constructs. In vitro bio-printed tissues such as skin, nerve and bone have been implanted on animals to evaluate their functionality, neovascularization, and engraftment with the host. Bioprinting’s future application is expected to be mostly in organ transplantation and drug & toxicity screening.
4D Bioprinting
4D bioprinting can overcome many limitations of 3D printing; hence, it has become a new field in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering markets. When compared to 3D printing, 4D printing offers various advantages such as fast growth of smart and multi-materials, more flexible and deformable structures, and can add more potential applications to both 4D and 3D printing. The emergence of 4D bio-printing is gaining momentum in disease management and healthcare innovation.
Challenges:
Bio-printing is growing rapidly, and many start-ups are entering the market but there are also some challenges:
– Bio-inks with lower biocompatibility and mechanical strength
– Lower resolution and speed of bioprinter
– Vasculature of tissue structures/constructs is an important challenge in Bio-printing as the tissues need continuous nutrients and oxygen.
– Ethical and legal issues with 3D Bioprinting
– The high cost of the method makes it unaffordable to developing countries.
– Because Bio-printing is a new and novel technology, it should be studied appropriately to ensure it will be safe for humans.
– Numerous Bioprinting companies have emerged in the market. Bioprinting can become a new gold standard for the bio-fabrication of tissues in the field of regenerative medicine.
Market Projections
Some important players in bioprinting are, a Russian company, 3D Bioprinting Solutions, Japanese company Cyfuse Biomedical, Germany-based Cellbricks, and Poietis, a France-based Bio-printing company. Many start-ups are entering the market and there are 20% are start-ups with strong economic growth. According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets the global 3D Bioprinting market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.45% during 2022-2027.
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