Table 1.

An overview of the biomaterials relevant to 3D bioprinting including their characteristics and applications.

Polymers		Bioceramic	Bioprinting method	Advantages	Limitations	Applications	References
Natural	Synthetic
Alginate			Inkjet, extrusion, droplet, light	Rapid gelation capability promoting high shape fidelity as a matrix, minimizes shear stress on cells	Low viability of endothelial cells, not supporting vascular morphogenesis	Sacrificial material for printing vascular structures, skin tissue engineering	[48–51]
Cellulose			Droplet, extrusion, light	Low cost, biocompatibility, sustainability, low cytotoxicity, antimicrobial properties, tunable degradation profile, used as thermoplastics	Limited cell adhesion, limited capability to support growth	Skin and wound dressing, bone tissue engineering, nerve tissue repair, ophthalmic tissue repair	[52–55]
Collagen type I			Droplet, extrusion, laser	Long term stability, ideal microenvironment for angiogenesis	Lack of sufficient mechanical properties, inferior printability	ECM for bioprinted vascular tissues, cartilage, liver, cornea	[48, 56–60]
Gelatin and Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)			Extrusion, laser	High versatility, rapid crosslinking	Limited resolution in bioprinting (500–1000 μm), require an extensive understanding to modulate mechanical properties	Liver, bone, cartilage, muscle tissue engineering	[44, 61–64]
Hyaluronic acid (HA)			Extrusion, light	Superior biocompatibility, capacity to create malleable hydrogels, shear thinning, sufficient viscosity	Lacks gelation ability	Skin, cartilage, bone, vessel tissue engineering	[65, 66]
Agarose			Extrusion, droplet	Self-gelling characteristics, water solubility, tunable mechanical properties, non-immunogenic characteristics	High stiffness may hinder cell spreading	Bone, vascular tissue engineering	[67–69]
Fibrinogen			Droplet, extrusion	Shear-thinning behavior, precise control over the amount of bioink and deposition rate	Possesses Newtonian behavior	Brain, cardiac, skin cartilage, bone tissues	[70–72]
Chitosan			Extrusion, laser	Antibacterial properties, porous structure of chitosan can modulate angiogenesis	Require acidic solution for dissolution	Fabrication of sponge scaffolds for wound dressings, cartilage regeneration, vascular tissue engineering	[73–76]
Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)			Extrusion	Retains the native tissue morphology including vasculature and biofactors	Slow gelation process, poor shape fidelity	Skeletal muscle tissue engineering	[77]
	Pluronic		Extrusion	Thermoreversible gelation behavior	Poor cell viability, weak mechanical properties, need a low temperature to liquefy (<4 °C)	Vascular tissue engineering	[78]
	Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)		Extrusion	Good mechanical properties, stability	Poor biocompatibility	Bone tissue	[78]
	Polyethylene glycol (PEG)		Extrusion, inkjet	Strong mechanical properties, non-immunogenic, non-cytotoxicity	Bioinert	Pancreatic tissue engineering, vascular, bone tissue engineering	[78, 79]
	Poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA)		Selective laser sintering (SLS) printing	Biocompatible, biodegradable, high tensile potency	Poor cell adhesion and proliferation	Cardiac tissue, articular cartilage	[80]
	Polylactic acid (PLA)		FDM	Biocompatibility, degradability,	Brittleness	Musculoskeletal tissue engineering	[78]
		Ti6Al4V	Laser beam melting	High strength, low density, nontoxic	Poor biocompatibility	Dental tissue engineering	[37]
		Calcium phosphate	Extrusion	Osteoconductive, good bioactivity, absorbability	Low compressive strength	Vascularized bone tissue	[37, 81]
		Biphasic calcium phosphate + Zirconia	Extrusion	Good mechanical and bone morphogenic properties	Limited zircornia concentration (<10 wt%) due to high viscosity hindering extrusion	Bone Tissue	[82]
Composites
Natural polymers	Synthetic polymers	Bioceramics	Bioprinting method	Characteristics of the scaffold		Applications	References
Chitosan	PLLA		Fused deposition modeling (FDM)	•Good cell viability, better mechanical properties, anti-inflammatory •Higher degradation rate		Bone tissue scaffold	[83]
Chitosan	PCL		FDM	•Versatile to construct micro channel structure within scaffolds to promote angiogenesis		Vascularized bone tissue	[84]
GelMA + Alginate	Poly(ethylene glycol)-tetra-acrylate) (PEGTA)		Co-axial extrusion	•Precise high resolution printed constructs •Ultraviolet (UV) light-dependent gelation process of GelMA		Vascular tissue engineering	[85]
Hyaluronic	Polylactic acid (PLA)		Extrusion	•Improve cell functionality by an increase in the expression of chondrogenic gene markers		Articular cartilage	[86]
Alginate + Gelatin		58 S Bioactive glass	Extrusion	•No cytotoxicity, good bioactivity, improved porosity		Bone regeneration	[87]
Alginate	Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA)	Calcium sulphate	Extrusion	•Complex cellularized structure with high viability of the cells.		Kidney	[88]
Collagen		HA	Extrusion	•Better biocompatibility, osteogenic differentiation •Difficult to exactly mimic the complex native tissue		Bone tissue	[89]
Phytagel	PVA		Extrusion	•Mimics the mechanical properties of human soft tissue and showed good cell attachment and viability		Soft connective tissue	[90]
Alginate	PVA	Hydroxyapatite	Extrusion	•Good printability, osteoconductive, biodegradable		Bone tissue	[91]
	PLGA	Hydroxyapatite	Laser stereolithography, extrusion	•Higher cellular growth, differentiation		Bone tissue	[92]