Bioprinting
Because of the unique nature of the materials involved (cells and other hydrogel bioinks), bioprinting can be considered a stand-alone area of additive manufacturing. As such, it also sometimes overlaps with more traditional 3D printing technologies and materials, such as ceramics and resorbable polymers, for implants and scaffolds.
The long-term potential of bioprinting is as large if not larger than the entire potential of industrial additive manufacturing, with significant implications on human life-expectancy and quality of life. This however is something that will likely take place several decades from today.
The current reality is that no commercial bioprinted products – such as organ/tissue transplants and grafts – are yet available on the market for consumer regenerative medicine. Nevertheless, these technologies and processes are already having a massive impact on regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical research.
Mapping and categorizing bioprinting technologies is challenging since most systems integrate hybrid versions of extrusion, material jetting and even photopolymerization as well as other approaches that are not used in industrial manufacturing such as acoustic and magnetic assembly.
One general element to consider is that bioprinting is primarily divided into indirect technologies, used to build polymeric scaffolds upon which to add the cellular materials, and technologies that assemble the cellular materials directly. Scaffolds can be compared to tools in industrial manufacturing: as such these technologies are likely to be the first to enable the production of complex, vascularized organs and tissues. On the other hand, direct bioprinting technologies represent the ultimate goal of bioassembly and bioengineering, with volumetric approaches (where a part is built by consolidating all sides at the same time, not just one 2D layer at a time) seen as the key to the production of entire organs.
One related area that is emerging very rapidly is cellular agriculture, which is the ability to produce meat and dairy products directly from lab-grown cells. Using bioprinters to assemble these cells can become an effective way to give cellular agriculture products the look and shape of animal-derived equivalents.
Commercial implementation of bioprinting technologies is already underway in the fields of drug development testing (DDT) and cosmetics development and testing. Adoption has also been booming within the regenerative and bioengineering areas of research at major academic institutions operating in these fields around the world, which has driven the development and sale of an increasing number of bioprinting systems, based on several different additive processes.
Although complex organ production for human transplant remains a very long term objective, simpler bioprinted organs and tissue grafting for human use now seem increasingly within reach, especially for cartilage, bone, and skin. The latest breakthrough in lung regeneration technology, which saw the involvement of traditional 3D printing firm 3D Systems, provides an indication for future production of commercially available complex bioprinted organs for human transplant.
The map above categorizes the companies that have developed and commercialized bioprinting hardware or bioprinted products based on internally developed bioprinting technologies. If you’d like to see a company added to this map, write us at info@3dpbm.com.
Both bioprinting technologies and materials (bioinks) are evolving rapidly and in many different directions, making the segment difficult to accurately map and track. 3dpbm’s 3D Printing Business Directory lists just over 100 active companies and three primary categories: 19% are bioink (and generally bioprinting materials) manufacturers, 39% are bioprinting hardware manufacturers and 42% are bioprinting service providers. As is the case in many other fringe areas of AM, such as construction and advanced materials, several technology developers use their proprietary hardware to provide services and parts. This category of companies also includes university laboratories and internal laboratories within pharmaceutical firms that leverage bioprinting to provide services.
In this month’s AM Focus Bioprinting, we will present some of the latest innovations in this segment. We will also take a much closer look at some of the companies that are driving innovation in bioprinting by contributing to widening access to these technologies and their applications.
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ARPA-H bets $26 million that the time has come for 3D printed organs
Five years. That’s often the timeline you hear when someone asks about 3D printed organs. It was five years fifteen, ten and five years ago. Those who work and do…
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Dragon spacecraft returns crew and bioprinting experiment results to Earth
Four astronauts ended a six-month science expedition onboard the International Space Station (ISS) with the successful splashdown of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft off the coast of Florida early Monday…
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Erik Gatenholm steps down as CEO of BICO
After initiating discussions with the Board of Directors, Erik Gatenholm has decided to step down as President and CEO of BICO Group. Maria Forss has been appointed the new President…
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Researchers demonstrate melt-spinning AM system for tubular scaffolds
Many tubular tissues such as blood vessels and trachea can suffer long-segmental defects through trauma and disease. With current limitations in the use of autologous grafts, the need for a…
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3D BioFibR raises $3.52M in seed financing
3D BioFibR, a leading biomaterials for tissue engineering company, has raised over $3.52M in seed financing. The financing will be used to expand 3D BioFibR’s facilities to include a climate-controlled…
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3D BioFibR releases two new 3D bioprinting collagen fiber products
3DBioFibR, a leading innovator in tissue engineering, has released two new collagen fiber products, μCollaFibR (pronounced micro-CollaFibR) and CollaFibR 3D scaffold. Made using 3D BioFibR’s proprietary and new dry-spinning technology…
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BellaSeno demonstrates superior 3D printed bone reconstruction scaffolds
BellaSeno GmbH, an ISO 13485-certified medtech company developing resorbable scaffolds using additive manufacturing technologies, has released comparative data on the biomechanical properties of different polycaprolactone/hydroxylapatite bone reconstruction scaffolds. The results,…
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BIO INX and UpNano develop Hydrotech INX U200 for 2PP printing
The launch of a new biocompatible hydrogel resin marks the begin of a new era in bioprinting. The novel resin allows 2-photon polymerization (2PP) 3D printing from micro- to meso-scale,…
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Puredyne and Humabiologics to provide integrated bioprinting solution
Puredyne has formed a strategic partnership with Humabiologics that is set to benefit researchers when it comes to printing collagen and gelatin. The collaboration between the two companies provides scientists…
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Scientists develop 3D printed pills for controlled release within the body
In the imminent future, we can anticipate encountering 3D printed pharmaceutical pills of unconventional shapes. These peculiarly-shaped pills, far from a mere aesthetic innovation, are designed for controlled drug release…