Preface
With the advent of additive manufacturing technologies in the tissue engineering field, the
design and fabrication of 3D biological constructs have been increasingly automated
exploiting computer-aided design and manufacturing principles. This has allowed the
generation of more rationally designed biofabricated products, either as additive manufactured scaffolds with instructive properties able to steer cell activity or as bioprinted constructs. In doing so, several technologies have been used and further developed, and new
biomaterials synthesized, to account for the specific requirements in tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine.
In this book, we have assembled a series of protocols that encompass different aspects of
computer-aided design and manufacturing of 3D scaffolds and biofabricated constructs for
tissue engineering applications.
The book has been divided into four sections. Section I deals with design principles. The
chapters by Almeida and Ba ´rtolo, Blanquer and Grijpma, and Bonfanti et al. provide insights
on topological optimization of scaffold architectures for computer-aided tissue engineering.
Section II shifts the focus on synthetic routes to biomaterials compatible with additive
manufacturing. Costantini et al. provide a comprehensive overview on the functionalization
of naturally derived biopolymers for the formulation of photo-crosslinkable bioinks. Ronca
et al. introduce a protocol for the synthesis of a polycaprolactone derivative for stereolithography. The chapter authored by Cidonio et al. discloses a protocol for the formulation of
nanoclay-based inks for bone tissue engineering. Section III focuses on technological platforms and manufacturing processes. The chapter by Calore et al. provides a thorough insight
on extrusion-based methods for the processing of thermoplasts. The chapters authored by
Puppi and Chiellini, Li et al., and Bolle et al. introduce variants of electro-hydro-dynamic
additive manufacturing techniques. Giannitelli et al. and Ghanizadeh Tabriz et al. present
two different extrusion-based methods for bioprinting of cell-laden hydrogels. Last, Guzzi
et al. disclose the surface tension-assisted fabrication of multicomponent structures. As a
conclusion, Section IV presents relevant applicative scenarios, as in the case of the inclusion
of vasculature in additively manufactured constructs, reported by Zhu et al., or in the
examples of computer-aided tissue engineering for in vitro toxicology, presented by Datta
et al.
We hope that you will enjoy reading this collection.
Rome, Italy
Alberto Rainer
Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands
Lorenzo Moroni
v
With the advent of additive manufacturing technologies in the tissue engineering field, the
design and fabrication of 3D biological constructs have been increasingly automated
exploiting computer-aided design and manufacturing principles. This has allowed the
generation of more rationally designed biofabricated products, either as additive manufactured scaffolds with instructive properties able to steer cell activity or as bioprinted constructs. In doing so, several technologies have been used and further developed, and new
biomaterials synthesized, to account for the specific requirements in tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine.
In this book, we have assembled a series of protocols that encompass different aspects of
computer-aided design and manufacturing of 3D scaffolds and biofabricated constructs for
tissue engineering applications.
The book has been divided into four sections. Section I deals with design principles. The
chapters by Almeida and Ba ´rtolo, Blanquer and Grijpma, and Bonfanti et al. provide insights
on topological optimization of scaffold architectures for computer-aided tissue engineering.
Section II shifts the focus on synthetic routes to biomaterials compatible with additive
manufacturing. Costantini et al. provide a comprehensive overview on the functionalization
of naturally derived biopolymers for the formulation of photo-crosslinkable bioinks. Ronca
et al. introduce a protocol for the synthesis of a polycaprolactone derivative for stereolithography. The chapter authored by Cidonio et al. discloses a protocol for the formulation of
nanoclay-based inks for bone tissue engineering. Section III focuses on technological platforms and manufacturing processes. The chapter by Calore et al. provides a thorough insight
on extrusion-based methods for the processing of thermoplasts. The chapters authored by
Puppi and Chiellini, Li et al., and Bolle et al. introduce variants of electro-hydro-dynamic
additive manufacturing techniques. Giannitelli et al. and Ghanizadeh Tabriz et al. present
two different extrusion-based methods for bioprinting of cell-laden hydrogels. Last, Guzzi
et al. disclose the surface tension-assisted fabrication of multicomponent structures. As a
conclusion, Section IV presents relevant applicative scenarios, as in the case of the inclusion
of vasculature in additively manufactured constructs, reported by Zhu et al., or in the
examples of computer-aided tissue engineering for in vitro toxicology, presented by Datta
et al.
We hope that you will enjoy reading this collection.
Rome, Italy
Alberto Rainer
Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands
Lorenzo Moroni
v