REVIEW  3D PRINTING IN ORTHOPEDICS AND TRAUMATOLOGY 

Minerva Orthopedics 2021 August;72(4):376-94

DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8469.20.04032-1

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Bioprinting for bone tissue engineering

Amedeo F. BONATTI, Irene CHIESA, Simone MICALIZZI, Giovanni VOZZI, Carmelo DE MARIA ✉

Enrico Piaggio Research Center, Department of Computer Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is an interdisciplinary field that aims to create three-dimensional living scaffolds to substitute or study bone tissue. In the last decades, bioprinting techniques have almost replaced conventional techniques (e.g. freeze drying and gas foaming) in the fabrication of BTE scaffolds, due to their intrinsic capability to finely control architecture, and embed cells and bioactive molecules. In this work, we analyzed bioprinting technologies used in BTE, reporting the most significant literature case studies, and focusing also on in-vitro bone models. Finally, we introduced new and innovative trends, including in-situ bioprinting and four-dimensional printing, towards which bioprinting research is moving.

KEY WORDS: Bone and bones; Tissue engineering; Bioprinting; Tissue scaffolds; Anatomic model