3D Bioprinting of Nature-Inspired Hydrogel Inks Based on Synthetic Polymers

3D bioprinting has gathered particular attention in the past few years as a remarkable cell-printing technology for the ultimate goal of biomanufacturing artificial 3D constructs and living organs toward tissue engineering and regenerative medicinal applications. Such an advanced method provides the opportunity to fabricate customized and patient-specific tissue scaffolds and medical device geometries with controlled spatial resolution and printability. Recently, hydrogels have evoked as an ideal candidate for the bioink-formulation of 3D printing due to their aqueous and 3D networked environment. This review article aims to summarize the articles documenting the 3D printable nature-inspired hydrogel inks comprised from synthetic polymers and natural polymers for biobased applications. Furthermore, the chemical insights for the hydrogel biomaterials are discussed, which can offer optimizable mechanical, functional, and chemical properties for enabling fabricated 3D objects with shape fidelity. Different approaches for engineering 3D scaffolds are also presented in order to understand and improve their mechanics and biological properties.