Bioprinting technology for the management of diabetic foot disease: Emerging applications, challenges, and prospects

Abstract

Most conventional therapies have limitations in the repair of complex wounds caused by chronic inflammation in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). In response to the demand for more biotechnology strategies, bioprinting has been explored in the regeneration field in recent years. However, challenges remain regarding the structure of complex models and the selection of proper biomaterials. The purpose of this review is to introduce the current applications of bioprinting technology in chronic diabetic foot wound healing. First, the most common application of bioprinting in producing skin equivalents to promote wound healing is introduced; second, functional improvements in the treatment of chronic and difficult-to-heal DFU wounds facilitated by bioprinting applications are discussed; and last but not least, bioprinting applications in addressing unique diabetic foot disease characteristics are summarized. Furthermore, the present work summarizes material selection and correlations between three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting and a variety of biomimetic strategies for accelerating wound healing. Novel, biotechnological tools such as organoids for developing new biomaterials for bioprinting in the future are also discussed.