Hydrogels for extrusion-based bioprinting: General considerations

Abstract

Extrusion-based bioprinting (EBB) is a biofabrication technique that has been widely used by researchers in the last two decades, mainly due to its versatility, ease to use, and low cost. EBB can deposit many materials, different cell types, and biomolecules in a predetermined position to generate 3D complex architectures for its usage in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery areas. Hydrogels are the most chosen biomaterials for bioprinting, because of their biological and mechanical properties. In the present work, the basis and classification of different extrusion methods, the printing parameters to be considered, and the properties, and applications of hydrogels for EBB are addressed.