Table 1:

Differences between several parameters based on the printing methods: extrusion-, droplet- and laser-based bioprinting.

Property ╲ Printer	Extrusion-based	Droplet-based	Laser-based	References
Material	Large variety of biocompatible materials	Multicell printing is possible, critical for complex organs	High gelation speed	[162]
Viscosity	30 mPa·s to >6 × 107 mPa·s	3.5–12 mPa·s	1–300 mPa·s	[17][72][62]
Gelation Methods	Chemical, photocrosslinking, shear thinning, temperature	Chemical, photocrosslinking	Chemical, photo crosslinking	[17][72]
Mechanical Properties	High with good structure integrity	Low with poor structure integrity	Low	[202][70][73]
Preparation Time	Medium	Low	High	[17]
Resolution	5 μm to a few millimeters	<1 pl to >300 pl droplets, 50 μm wide Cell	Single cell manipulation possible	[21][17][32][62]
Accuracy	Low	High, with high throughput	High	[21][26]
Print Speed	Slow (10–50 μm/s)	Fast (1–10,000 droplets per second)	Medium-fast (200–1,600 mm/s)	[26][17][46][62]
Nozzle Dynamics	Shear stress induced by nozzle wall and extrusion pressure	Non-contact Nozzle, but nozzle can clog	Nozzle Free	[21][26]
Cell Damage Source	Damage due to shearing in the nozzle	Cell aggregation may occur	Damage due to generation of heat	[21]
Cell Viability	40% – 80%	>85%	>95%	[21][17][73][115][46]
Cell Density	High, cell spheroids	Low, <106 cells/ml	Medium, 108 cells/ml	[17][62]
Printer Cost	Low	Medium	High	[17][63]