Utilization of Natural and Synthetic Hydrogels for Biofabrication

Abstract

Soft materials hold the potential to constitute native like microenvironment and complexity of tissues and organs better than any other counterpart. Advances in soft biomaterials have supported the rapid development of applications in biotechnology and biomedicine. Hydrogel-based soft materials have attracted great interest due to their excellent chemical, physical/biophysical properties, and functionalities suitable for constructing 3D biomaterials. Current developments in biofabrication techniques give the possibility to design novel hydrogel-based biomaterials. We foresee that there is a need to define and classify hydrogel-based natural and synthetic biomaterials for biofabrication applications. In this work, our ultimate purpose is summarizing the utilization of hydrogels in the field of biofabrication in every aspect. First, conventional and advanced biofabrication techniques to construct hydrogel-based biomaterials will be discussed. Second, applications of biofabricated hydrogels in varied fields like tissue engineering, cell culture, and regenerative medicine will be presented. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives in the field of biofabrication of natural and synthetic hydrogels will be exhibited. © 2023 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.