3D Bioprinting

Bioprinting has potential for a wide range of applications:

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: Bioprinting enables the creation of structures with the potential to replace damaged tissues and even entire organs, thereby reducing dependence on organ donation. As early as the beginning of the 2000s, the first implantation of a printed organ in humans was performed: a urinary bladder produced by researchers at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which functioned for more than a decade after implantation. Later, implantation of tissues such as skin, the ear, and the trachea was also reported. However, as of today, organ printing for transplantation remains limited to research and clinical trials, and the regulatory pathway for these products has not yet been fully defined. Experts estimate that it will take several more decades before complex organs such as the heart or lungs reach clinical implementation. By contrast, structurally simpler tissues, such as the cornea, are already at advanced stages of development and even early clinical application.

Development of new drugs: Beyond direct clinical applications, bioprinting is a significant tool in drug development. Three-dimensional-printed tissues and organs provide a model that more accurately mimics the human body than two-dimensional cultures. Accordingly, they can be used to assess drug efficacy and safety, reduce animal testing, and accelerate drug development.

Personalized medicine: Tissue models based on cells derived from the patient can be produced to tailor treatment to the patient’s disease. This approach is particularly relevant for matching treatments to cancerous tumors.

Research: Printed tissue models enable researchers to study diseases and biological processes in a controlled environment that simulates physiological conditions.

Bio-devices: Bioprinting can be used to produce tissues integrated with sensors for real-time monitoring of physiological processes. These systems may serve both research and diagnostic applications.

Environmental biotechnology: Three-dimensional structures containing microorganisms such as algae, bacteria, or fungi can be printed to break down pollutants in water and soil. These systems function as living biofilters that can operate over time to purify and restore the environment.

Cultivated food based on living cells: Bioprinting enables the creation of three-dimensional structures from muscle and fat cells grown in the laboratory, to produce food products that mimic meat. This approach seeks to produce animal-based food without the need to raise and slaughter animals, while enabling control over composition and texture.

This review describes the various printing methods, the characteristics of biological ink, the market potential, and the current and future applications of printed products. The review addresses only 3D printing in which the ink contains living cells from which, following printing, a functional three-dimensional tissue develops that mimics natural tissue.

Alongside these components, a sterile environment is required to prevent contamination that could impair cell viability.

Bioink consists of a carrier material containing living cells, together with bioactive additives that support cell growth and tissue development.

The carrier material forms the bioink’s physical body. In most cases, it is a hydrogel, which, on the one hand, enables flow during printing and, on the other, preserves the structure’s shape after printing. In addition, it provides the cells with a supportive environment that helps maintain their viability and function. These materials are generally based on natural polymers, such as alginate and collagen, or synthetic polymers, such as polyethylene glycol.

The bioactive additives include proteins and peptides, for example, RGD peptides, laminin, and fibronectin, which are usually derived from the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). Their role is to interact with cells and promote adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. In the absence of these components, cells trapped within an inert carrier material do not survive over time and do not develop into tissue.

In certain applications, such as hard-tissue engineering (e.g., bone), the bioink is reinforced with ceramic materials. For this purpose, calcium-containing compounds, such as calcium phosphate or hydroxyapatite, are used, sometimes in combination with structural polymers, such as PCL (Polycaprolactone), to provide stiffness and mechanical support to the printed structure.

The development of bioink requires balancing the engineering requirements of the printing process with the need to preserve cell viability and function. Within this context, several key challenges arise:

• Shear stress: During printing, shear forces are exerted on the cells, mainly as they pass through the printhead. These forces may impair cell viability. There is an inherent tension between the need for high printing precision, which requires small nozzles, and the need to preserve cell integrity, since smaller nozzles increase shear stress.

• Tissue contraction: Printed tissues tend to undergo compression and contraction during the maturation stage, in some cases shrinking to as much as half of their original dimensions. Accordingly, the printing dimensions must be planned to compensate for the expected change.

• Structural stability: Soft or large structures may collapse under their own weight during or after printing. To avoid this, supportive scaffolds can be used, or the structure can be stabilized through crosslinking processes, such as exposure to UV radiation, enzyme addition, temperature changes, or chemical reactions. It is important to ensure that these processes do not impair cell viability. In addition, the literature describes an approach in which the ink is printed into a liquid bath with a matching material density, which provides temporary support to the structure during printing.

• Cell density in the ink: A high cell density is required to create functional tissue. However, increasing cell density increases the risk of printhead clogging and reduced cell viability, mainly due to limited oxygen supply to inner cells. Proposed solutions include the use of spheroids, which are three-dimensional clusters of cells, instead of single cells, and the incorporation of cell-protective additives such as nanocellulose, which maintains a stable microenvironment.

• Tissue fusion: After printing, a biological process takes place in which cells and printed structures merge into continuous tissue. Cell-cell interactions and surface tension drive this process, and it is essential for the formation of an intact structure, especially in systems lacking a supportive scaffold.

Several main bioprinting technologies differ in how material is deposited, printing resolution, the types of materials supported, and their effects on cell viability.

The 3D bioprinting market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, driven by technological advances, increasing demand for organ transplantation, and the rise of personalized medicine. As the prevalence of chronic diseases increases and the population ages, transplant waiting lists are growing longer, creating a need for innovative solutions to the shortage of organ donors. Printed tissues may provide a possible response to this challenge. In addition, personalized medicine, in which treatments are tailored to each patient’s genetic and health profile, is gaining increasing importance. The ability to print personalized biological models and tissues supports the development of more precise treatment protocols. Bioprinting also affects the development of new drugs and the testing of their efficacy and safety.

Government initiatives and funding mechanisms focused on biotechnology are driving further market development. Efforts to improve the properties of bioink and the printing processes are creating opportunities for the development of advanced products. There is also a growing trend toward integrating artificial intelligence, which simplifies design and technology transfer to manufacturing.

A market survey published in January 2025 projects that the 3D bioprinting market will reach approximately $5 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 17% between 2025 and 2032. Other surveys estimate a higher market value, but the differences stem from different definitions of the bioprinting field, some of which also include the printing of synthetic materials for medical purposes.

Despite impressive growth projections, the market has grown more slowly than the forecasts issued 10 years ago. Bioprinting is technologically complex, and its processes are lengthy. Mass production is unlikely in the coming years, and we are still far from printing complex organs. Even when technology becomes more accessible, it is likely to be applied mainly in tissue engineering rather than in the printing of whole organs. More accessible applications today include synthetic skin, ears, bladder, and cornea, which contain a limited number of cell types.

In the food sector, there is a parallel trend of 3D printing to produce cultivated food. This market was estimated at $297 million in 2023 and is expected to reach approximately $2 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 34%. However, most food printing involves components that are not living cells, for example, plant-based ingredients or cellular biomass processed before printing.

A small number of companies have attempted to print food from living cells, such as muscle, fat, or connective tissue, to create structures that mimic the texture, taste, and appearance of real cuts of meat. Production costs for this process are likely too high for a food product. In the absence of precise data on the market for cultivated food printing produced from living cells, the assessment is that this market segment currently represents only a very small share of the market, likely less than 1% of all 3D food printing.

Segmentation of the bioprinting market indicates the following main trends:

• By technology: Extrusion printers accounted for the largest market segment in 2025.
• By components: The printer segment was the largest.
• By applications: Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering constitute the main market segment, while personalized medicine applications are expected to grow at the fastest rate.
• By end users: Academic institutions and research institutes are the primary users.
• By geography: North America is the largest market, while the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest rate.

 

Manufacturers of bioprinters and bioinks:

Advanced Solutions Life Sciences, LLC (USA)	CELLINK (BICO Group, Sweden)
REGEMAT 3D, SL (Spain)	REGENHU (Switzerland)
3D SYSTEMS (USA)	Poietis (France)
Nanoscribe (Germany)	Cyfuse Biomedical K.K. (Japan)

Companies developing printed tissues:

Organovo Holdings (USA)

Aspect Biosystems (Canada)

PreciseBio 3D – The company produces tissues from human cells and natural materials for indications in which there is a shortage of organ donors, or to address a medical condition through tissue replacement. The company’s first product is an engineered cornea containing human endothelial cells and human collagen, intended for transplantation in patients suffering from corneal edema. The implant is based on a supportive collagen layer onto which the cells are 3D-printed.

The company faces a unique regulatory challenge because existing regulations are not yet fully adapted to printed biological products, especially those containing living cells. In November 2025, the first-ever human corneal transplantation by the company, created from human cells and printed using unique 3D technology, was performed at Rambam Health Care Campus.

The surgery, performed on a woman in her seventies who had lost sight in one eye due to a corneal disease, was successful: the woman’s vision improved, and the medical team continues to monitor the recovery process.

 

Bioprinting is considered one of the most promising technologies in medicine, but several technical, ethical, and regulatory challenges are delaying its broader implementation.

Technological and Biological Challenges

• Vascularization (blood supply): This is one of the central obstacles in the field. Tissues require a dense, complex network of blood vessels to supply oxygen and nutrients to inner cells and remove waste. Existing printing technologies still struggle to create a precise, functional capillary network, and necrosis can develop in the center of the printed tissue.

• Structural complexity: Real organs are composed of a vast range of cell types arranged in a highly precise architecture. Replicating the microscopic structure and the precise interactions among different cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and connective tissue, is a complex challenge that current technology is still far from fully solving.

• Bioinks: There is a challenge in identifying materials that are both printable, meaning they have suitable viscosity, and capable of providing an ideal environment for maintaining long-term cell viability. In many cases, there is a trade-off between the stability of the printed structure and its suitability for cell growth and development.

Regulatory and Safety Hurdles

• Regulation: Existing pathways are designed mainly for implants that do not contain living tissue. For printed biological products containing living cells, the regulatory pathway remains unclear and undefined.

• Long-term safety: The long-term implications of implanting printed organs are still unknown. Open questions include whether the body may recognize the tissue as foreign after years, whether the components of the bioink are safe for prolonged use, and whether there is a risk of tumor formation from the printed cells.

Ethical and Social Challenges

• Access and equity: Bioprinting is expected to be an expensive technology, especially in its early stages. There is concern that it will be available mainly to wealthier populations, which could deepen gaps in life expectancy and quality of life across different population groups.

• Human enhancement: Future use of the technology to enhance biological performance, such as printing stronger muscles or more durable bones, may blur the line between medical treatment and biological enhancement.

• Cell source: The use of stem cells, and in some cases embryonic cells, raises ethical questions, especially in the context of large-scale tissue production. These issues are not unique to bioprinting but are relevant to any technology that uses such cells.

3D bioprinting is an innovative technology with broad potential for medical applications, but it is still in the research and development stage. At present, the most common subfield focuses on printing miniature three-dimensional models of human tissues, such as organ-on-a-chip systems or cancer models. These models make it possible to recreate physiological complexity, thereby supporting disease and drug research, reducing the need for animal testing, and enabling the development of personalized treatments. This subfield is easier to implement than printing tissues for transplantation, since it does not require long-term survival or integration into the body, and it is not subject to similarly stringent regulatory requirements.

In the field of regenerative medicine, which focuses on the printing of tissues and organs for transplantation, there is at times an imbalance between media promises and scientific achievements. Despite headlines about success in printing an entire heart, the reality is that progress remains limited to relatively simple tissues – skin, cartilage, or cornea – and even these are not yet in widespread clinical use. The technological and biological challenges are substantial, and the transition from the laboratory to the clinic requires significant breakthroughs in both biology and materials engineering, beyond the printing technology itself. The number of companies active in this field is small. Still, it is worth noting the exceptional achievement of the Israeli company PreciseBio 3D, which has reached a human clinical trial with a printed biological cornea made from living cells.

Applications of the technology in non-medical fields, such as food, remain marginal at this stage. Attempts by a small number of companies, for example, Steakholder Foods in Israel, to produce cultivated food from living cells have been suspended or canceled, most likely because production costs are too high relative to the product’s commercial value.

 

 

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