Abstract

Tissue replacement using engrafting biomaterials or artificial organs to restore lost functions post-injury is one of the leading regenerative medicine practices. The last two decades witnessed the emergence of many promising biofabrication approaches such as bioprinting. However, bioprinting allows the placement of complex structures that are multi-layer (using hydrogel biomaterials), multicellular, vascularized, and multifunctional. Different bioprinting approaches are being developed and used to print hundreds of promising bioinks combinations into tissue-specific niches to grow living organs for translation, disease modelling, and drug delivery. This book chapter reviews the three primary bioprinting techniques with their advantages and limitations. Moreover, this chapter discusses the natural and synthetic biomaterials and the additives and crosslinking methods used to fabricate functional bioinks that boost cell growth, proliferation, migration, differentiation, and homeostasis.