Introduction :
Additive manufacturing (AM), the process of joining materials to make
objects from 3D CAD model data, such as 3D printing, is showing a high
potential to radically disrupt the global consumer market and trigger a
manufacturing revolution in a broad spectrum of applications in many
industry sectors. 3D printing is mostly well-known for
custom-fabrication of industrial
prototypes and parts using standard fabrication materials such as
plastics and metals has recently infiltrated into many industries such
as aviation, automobile, dental, electronic and fashion. The successful
implementation of AM in the healthcare industry has resulted in the
development of surgical equipment, prosthetics, medical devices, and
implants. More recently, 3D
printing has been adopted to utilize life cells and gels as printing
materials (bioinks) to create ex vivo and in vitro tissue models. Such
technology heralds new frontiers in medicine.
In vitro, cells cannot arrange themselves in three-dimensional (3D)
structure similar to that in real tissue in vivo. Various tissue
engineering techniques were developed, aiming to develop tools that are
able to mimic the living tissue structure and function. Biofabrication
is an innovative technique that evolved from various fabrication
technologies, particularly 3D printing and bioreactor, opening the door
for new technology (AM-based tissue engineering). 3D printing is the
process of integration of living cells with biomaterials that allows
controlled deposition of cells/bioink with maintained cellular viability
in 3-dimensional space to create complex multifaceted tissues.