Cell Bioprinting: The 3D-Bioplotter™ Case

Abstract

The classic cell culture involves the use of support in two dimensions, such as a well plate or a Petri dish, that allows the culture of different types of cells. However, this technique does not mimic the natural microenvironment where the cells are exposed to. To solve that, three-dimensional bioprinting techniques were implemented, which involves the use of biopolymers and/or synthetic materials and cells. Because of a lack of information between data sources, the objective of this review paper is, to sum up, all the available information on the topic of bioprinting and to help researchers with the problematics with 3D bioprinters, such as the 3D-Bioplotter™. The 3D-Bioplotter™ has been used in the pre-clinical field since 2000 and could allow the printing of more than one material at the same time, and therefore to increase the complexity of the 3D structure manufactured. It is also very precise with maximum flexibility and a user-friendly and stable software that allows the optimization of the bioprinting process on the technological point of view. Different applications have resulted from the research on this field, mainly focused on regenerative medicine, but the lack of information and/or the possible misunderstandings between papers makes the reproducibility of the tests difficult. Nowadays, the 3D Bioprinting is evolving into another technology called 4D Bioprinting, which promises to be the next step in the bioprinting field and might promote great applications in the future.