Innovative technologies for the fabrication of 3D/4D smart hydrogels and its biomedical applications - A comprehensive review

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2024

Abstract

Repairing and regenerating damaged tissues or organs, and restoring their functioning has been the ultimate aim of medical innovations. 'Reviving healthcare' blends tissue engineering with alternative techniques such as hydrogels, which have emerged as vital tools in modern medicine. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a practical manufacturing revolution that uses building strategies like molding as a viable solution for precise hydrogel manufacturing. Recent advances in this technology have led to the successful manufacturing of hydrogels with enhanced reproducibility, accuracy, precision, and ease of fabrication. Hydrogels continue to metamorphose as the vital compatible bio-ink matrix for AM. AM hydrogels have paved the way for complex 3D/4D hydrogels that can be loaded with drugs or cells. Bio-mimicking 3D cell cultures designed via hydrogel-based AM is a groundbreaking in-vivo assessment tool in biomedical trials. This brief review focuses on preparations and applications of additively manufactured hydrogels in the biomedical spectrum, such as targeted drug delivery, 3D-cell culture, numerous regenerative strategies, biosensing, bioprinting, and cancer therapies. Prevalent AM techniques like extrusion, inkjet, digital light processing, and stereo-lithography have been explored with their setup and methodology to yield functional hydrogels. The perspectives, limitations, and the possible prospects of AM hydrogels have been critically examined in this study.

Identifier

85192792764 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Advances in Colloid and Interface Science

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2024.103163

ISSN

00018686

PubMed ID

38749384

Volume

328

Grant

NHRIKMU-113-I005

Fund Ref

Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS