Bioprinting technologies: an overview

Tissue engineering (TE) is an interdisciplinary field that aims at creating functional substitutes able to promote tissue healing after implantation. In the scope of TE, bioprinting technologies (i.e., the application of additive manufacturing processes to deposit biomaterials and cells) have been increasingly adopted as nonconventional fabrication approach to create complex constructs that closely mimic the microenvironment of natural tissues. In this context, this chapter will focus on bioprinting technologies successfully applied in TE, by looking at recent examples from the literature describing the processing of biomaterials and cells, defined as bioinks. Furthermore, we will introduce recent trends, including new deposition technologies and bioink formulations, which are currently under investigatigation in bioprinting research.