Current Progress and Technological Challenges in Translational 3D Bioprinting

The field of organ transplant faces several shortcomings despite the countless lives that were saved since the first successful procedure in 1954. Over the past many decades, there is an increase in patient death because of the insufficient organ donors. The field of bioprinting holds great promise for its ability to print biocompatible materials and most importantly to dispense cell-laden biomaterials for the construction of complex 3D functional living tissues and organs. The process of 3D bioprinting has been applied in the field of regenerative therapy that helps to address the necessity of artificial tissues or organs for transplantation. Compared to the non-biological printing such as the polymeric scaffold printing, bioprinting represents a higher degree of complexity as it involves an increased number of parameters directly affecting the manufacturing process. The process of bioprinting is also associated with multiple challenges such as printing resolution, maintenance of the shape fidelity and porosity, maintenance of cell viability, reproducibility, and many more. In this perspective, this review gives an overview on the critical challenges in the bioprinting process.