Polymers and Composites in 3d Bioprinting for Regenerative Medicine

The three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, involves the use of biomaterials to 3D bioprint scaffolds for various biomedical applications. 3D bioprinting is an emerging technology which has high potential application in biomedical applications and regenerative medicine. 3D bioprinting is fabrication of 3D models with the aid of bioink which composes of the cells and biomaterials (polymers). Increasing advancement and development in the polymer synthesis has led to increase in the demand for exploring biomaterial and their role for regeneration. The role of polymers as a component in bioink play critical role for providing printable properties to generate 3D bioprinted scaffolds. Different factors of scaffolds affect the printing which involve crosslinking ability, viscosity and biological interactions which makes them ideal as a component in bioinks. There is a wide range of polymers, and the choice of polymer is considered based on the application of study like drug screening, pathological analysis, repair and regeneration by providing suitable cellular proliferation and interactions. Biocompatible polymers for regeneration include natural, synthetic and hybrid polymers. Since these polymers have been applied in bioinks for tissue engineering, the synthesis and their application are still being explored. Various research groups are working on 3D bioprinting with polymers, which we have discussed in the book chapter along with the different types of polymers and their properties. We also highlight the evolution of techniques applied for fabrication of 3D models and challenges along with future perspectives.