3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING

Tissue engineering (TE) integrates methods of cells, engineering and materials to improve or replace biological functions of native tissues or organs. 3D printing technologies have been used in TE to produce different kinds of tissues. Human tissues have intricate structures with the distribution of a variety of cells. For this reason, existing methods in the construction of artificial tissues use universal 3D printing equipment or some simple devices, which is hard to meet requirements of the tissue structure in accuracy and diversity. Especially for soft tissue organs, a professional bio-3D printer is required for theoretical research and preliminary trial. Based on review of the exiting 3D printing technologies used in TE, special requirements of fabricating soft tissues are identified in this research. The need of a proposed bio-3D printer for producing artificial soft tissues is discussed. The bio-3D printer suggested consists of a pneumatic dispenser, a temperature controller and a multi-nozzle changing system.