3D Printing/Bioprinting Based Tailoring of <i>in Vitro</i> Tissue Models: Recent Advances and Challenges

Abstract

Prodigious progress in the past decade has pronounced 3D printing as one of the most promising technique for assembling biological materials in a complex layout that mimics native human tissues. With the advent of technology, several improvements in printing techniques have facilitated the development of intricate strategies and designs that were imaginably distant due to the conventional top-down approaches. Most of these advanced strategies generally follow a thorough coordination and an elaborate biomimetic blueprint due to which it is now possible to fabricate <i>in vitro</i> tissue models with ease. However, much remains to be accomplished at several forefronts for utilizing this technology to its full potential. With several printing strategies at the lead, it has now become essential to systematically analyze and learn from several endeavors such that shortcomings can be understood and future efforts can be made toward negating them. Taking account of all the recent tissue specific developments in this field, this review serves as a framework for bringing together in discussion several strategies and constraints in developing small scaled <i>in vitro</i> tissues. Highlighting the growing popularity of the organ and body on chip platforms and their easy scale up using 3D printing, latest advancements, and the challenges in this field are also discussed.