Technological watch

Three-dimensional printing, or additive manufacturing, is an engineering process that has been recently applied to the fabrication of tissue-engineered constructs. In comparison with non-biological printing, 3D bioprinting (3DBP) relies on the layer-by-layer deposition of a bioink, consisting of living cells combined with biomolecules and a biomaterial, generally a hydrogel in its liquid phase, which turns to a solid phase when consolidated. In recent years, cartilage 3DBP has gained interest for clinical applications of cartilage tissue engineering and more fundamentally, for in vitro osteochondral tissue modeling. In the present review, we address the different 3D printing methodologies available and discuss their advantages and drawbacks. An insight on the current development of bioinks adapted to the printing technology and to articular cartilage tissue engineering is provided. Current challenges and future perspectives are discussed.