Applicazioni del 3D bioprinting in campo biomedico

3D bioprinting is a growing technology which utilize living cells, biomaterials, and biological molecules to create complex and vital 3D constructs. Key elements for the bioprinting procedure are the bioinks, a mixture of biomaterials and viable cells, that require specific characteristics. There are four essential techniques to produce a 3D bioprinted fabricate: extrusion-based bioprinting, inkjet-based bioprinting, laser-based bioprinting and stereolithography. 3D bioprinting has a wide range of possible applications in the biomedical field. For instance, it can be used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) to obtain specific tissues. In particular, this technique is broadly utilized in bone tissue engineering, a field in which there’s a need to find valuable substitutes to the use of grafts. 3D bioprinting is a powerful tool which can be used for cancer research. Indeed, it can create in vitro cancer models which better mimic the in vivo tumor tissues, and which can be employed to study the cancer progression and growth. Furthermore, 3D bioprinting can create valuable models to test possible drug candidates. In my work, I briefly present this cutting-edge technology and its three main applications in the biomedical field.