Table 1.
Examples of 3D bioprinters using hydrogel-based bio-inks in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
| Company | Bioprinter | Features | Tissues or Organs | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORGANOVO (San Diego, CA, USA) |
NovoGen MMX™ | Able to create biological tissues of the liver, kidneys, intestines, skin, pancreas and more. Includes two printheads, one for extracting cells, the other for hydrogels, scaffolds or soft biomaterials. |
Kidney, tissue-engineered muscle, liver, human intestinal tissue. | [89,97,98,121] |
| ENVISIONTEC (Gladbeck, Germany) |
3D Bioplotter® | Can process a variety of biomaterials (e.g., hydrogels, soft polymers, bioceramics, etc.). Used in bone regeneration, cell and organ pressure, production of cartilage and skin. |
Blood vessels, adipose tissue, tracheal graft, tooth tissue, adipose tissue. | [37,93,95,96,122] |
| CELLINK (Gothenburg, Sweden) |
Inkredible+™ | Based on the extrusion principle. Equipped with dual heated printheads. Allows 3D bioprinting with different cell types and bio-inks in the same structure. Several biomaterials can be used, including those of too-high viscosity at room temperature. Equipped with a built-in UV crosslinking system. |
Cartilage and skin tissue, vascularized soft tissues, skin constructs. | [49,92,123] |
| CELLINK (Gothenburg, Sweden) |
BIO X™ | Integrates three different printheads. Based on the principle of extrusion. Could design structures from any type of cell (e.g., endothelial cells, stem cells or fibroblasts). Equipped with UV-C germicide that allows sterilizing light in the printing environment. |
Engineered neural tissues, skin constructs, wound dressings, bone tissue. | [57,86,92,124] |
| ASPECT BIOSYSTEMS (Vancouver, BC, Canada) |
RX1™ | Able to manufacture physiologically complex heterogeneous human tissues in a personalized way. Bioprinting of high cell densities with high viability and preserved phenotype. Uses low viscosity biomaterials. |
Engineered neural tissues, brain tissue, renal tissue, 3D contractile smooth muscle tissues, neural tissues. | [125,126,127,128,129] |
| GESIM (Radeberg, Germany) |
BioScaffolder® | Bioprinting of very different hard and soft biopolymers with or without cells. Design and bioprinting of porous and multi biomaterial structures for tissue engineering. Sequential bioprinting, co-axial extrusion, nanoliter pipetting. |
Vaginal wall repair, periodontal tissue, cardiac tissue. | [130,131,132] |
| ALLEVI (Philadelphia, PA, USA) |
Allevi | Uses LED photo-curing with blue and UV light. Allows working with several biomaterials (e.g., collagen, matrigel, methacrylate, graphene, etc.). |
Veterinary dosage forms, bone graft, osteochondral constructs. | [133,134,135] |
| REGENHU (Fribourg, Switzerland) |
3D Discovery® Evolution | Enables fabrication in macro and nano dimensions using a single unit. Generates tissue structures analogous to those seen in nature. Provides 11 different printhead technologies with only a single instrument. Configuration and specification can be modified and adapted. |
Cartilage tissue constructs engineered biological tissues. | [101,102,136] |
| REGENHU (Fribourg, Switzerland) |
Biofactory ® | Adapted to a wide range of bioprinting techniques, including extrusion and droplet bioprinting techniques. - Enables work with a vast range of biomaterials, including photo-crosslinkable hydrogels, proteins and high viscosity biomaterials. Provides a system built into the laminar flow hood, which maintains a sterile environment with regulated temperature, humidity and gas composition. |
Skin, air–blood tissue barrier, skin tissue regeneration, 3D tubular construct. | [137,138,139,140] |
| CLUSTER TECHNOLOGY (Osaka, Japan) |
DeskViewer™ | Based on the principle of piezo-electronic inkjet printing. Equipped with four injectors with different-sized nozzles. Able to print different kinds of cells or protein solutions. Both the volume and diameter of the drop from the nozzle can be modified and adapted. |
Human tissue chips. | [141] |
| REGEMAT (Granada, Spain) |
Bio V1 | Optimized for osteochondral tissues and able to be used in other similar applications. Exchangeable printheads allow for a wide spectrum of applications. |
Bone tissue, articular cartilage constructs. | [50,85,142] |
| POIETIS (Pessac, France |
NGB-R™ | Characterized by high precision and resolution. Provided with a built-in in-line monitoring system capable of controlling the accuracy of each layer applied, thus producing controlled 3D cellular structures and reproducible tissue designs. |
Skin model. | [143] |