Advances of 3D Printing in Vascularized Organ Construction

Shenglong Li; Siyu Liu; Xiaohong Wang

doi:10.18063/ijb.v8i3.588

Advances of 3D Printing in Vascularized Organ Construction

Int J Bioprint. 2022 Jul 7;8(3):588. doi: 10.18063/ijb.v8i3.588. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shenglong Li^{1

2}, Siyu Liu², Xiaohong Wang^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Surgery, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang, China.
² Center of 3D Printing and Organ Manufacturing, School of Intelligent Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
³ Center of Organ Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

In the past several decades, three-dimensional (3D) printing has provided some viable tissues and organs for repairing or replacing damaged tissues and organs. However, the construction of sufficient vascular networks in a bioartificial organ has proven to be challenging. To make a fully functional bioartificial organ with a branched vascular network that can substitute its natural counterparts, various studies have been performed to surmount the limitations. Significant progress has been achieved in 3D printing of vascularized liver, heart, bone, and pancreas. It is expected that this technology can be used more widely in other bioartificial organ manufacturing. In this review, we summarize the specific applications of 3D printing vascularized organs through several rapid prototyping technologies. The limitations and future directions are also discussed.

Keywords: 3D printing; Organ manufacturing; Stem cells; Tissue engineering; Vascularized organs.

Publication types

Review