Thenext frontier of medicineis here: biofabrication.
As technologies continue to evolve our scientific understanding and the application of advanced bioprocess engineering, biofabrication might become even more prominent in the years ahead.
In addition to whole-tissue engineering, one area that has greatly benefited from biofabricating has beencell therapyand regenerative medicine — the creation of personalized medicine and reparable tissue from raw biological materials.
And though bioprinting has earned much of the recent spotlight for its ability to depositcellular bioinksinto a 3D ecosystem of manufactured tissue that closely resembles native materials, it's not the only biomanufacturing technique available to bench researchers. As a 2018 study published inNature Review Materialsexplains, biofabricated processes largely comprise bioassembly and bioprinting strategies, which can include 3D printing, plotting, and electrospinning, as well as selective laser sintering and stereolithography.