Novel Gels for 3D Bioprinting in Tissue Engineering

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 513

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto de Tecnologías Emergentes y Ciencias Aplicadas (ITECA), Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología (ECyT), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, CONICET, San Martín, Buenos Aires B1650, Argentina
Interests: rheology; mechanical properties; polymers; bioprinting; resorbable biomaterials

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Guest Editor
1. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco (IQUIMEFA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1113, Argentina
2. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande—FURG, Rio Grande 96203-900, RS, Brazil
Interests: biomaterials; nanomaterials; 3D printing; tissue engineering; bioinks
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Because of their distinct physicochemical characteristics, biocompatibility, and capacity to replicate the extracellular matrix, gels have become a fundamental component of tissue engineering, especially in the field of 3D bioprinting. As the field of 3D bioprinting advances, the development of novel gels with tailored mechanical, rheological, and biological properties is critical to overcoming current limitations and enabling the fabrication of complex, functional tissues that support cell growth, differentiation, and tissue regeneration.

This Special Issue is dedicated to exploring the latest advancements in the design, synthesis, and application of novel gels for 3D bioprinting in tissue engineering. We invite contributions that address the development of innovative gel-based bioinks, their characterization, and their evaluation in preclinical and clinical settings. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Design and synthesis of novel gel materials for 3D bioprinting applications.
  • Advanced bioinks with enhanced printability, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility.
  • Stimuli-responsive gels for dynamic and adaptive tissue engineering constructs.
  • Multifunctional gels incorporating bioactive molecules, growth factors, or nanoparticles.
  • Strategies to improve gel stability, degradation kinetics, and integration with host tissues.
  • In vitro and in vivo evaluation of 3D-bioprinted gel-based constructs.
  • Computational modeling and optimization of gel properties for 3D bioprinting.
  • Challenges and opportunities in translating gel-based bioprinting technologies to clinical applications.

We welcome original research articles and perspectives that highlight cutting-edge developments in this rapidly evolving field. By bringing together diverse expertise, this Special Issue aims to foster collaboration and innovation, ultimately advancing the development of next-generation gels for 3D bioprinting and their application in tissue engineering.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Élida B. Hermida
Prof. Dr. Martin Federico Desimone
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioinks
  • bioprinting
  • biofabrication
  • printability
  • stimuli-responsive gels
  • rheology
  • tissue-engineering
  • 3D bioprinting

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 11614 KiB  
Article
Effect of 3D Printing Parameters on the Transparency of Medical Hydrogels for Corneal Stroma Fabrication
by Qiang Gao, Kaicheng Yu, Youyun Shang, Zexue Lin, Min Zhu, Lihua Lu, Tao Jiang and Peng Zhang
Gels 2025, 11(7), 528; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11070528 - 8 Jul 2025
Viewed by 339
Abstract
Medical hydrogels represent a promising solution for the treatment of corneal diseases and trauma, offering potential to address the shortage of donor corneas. To meet the functional requirements of artificial corneas in tissue engineering, it is crucial to fabricate biomimetic structures with high [...] Read more.
Medical hydrogels represent a promising solution for the treatment of corneal diseases and trauma, offering potential to address the shortage of donor corneas. To meet the functional requirements of artificial corneas in tissue engineering, it is crucial to fabricate biomimetic structures with high optical transparency using 3D printing techniques. As fiber alignment during the printing process has a pronounced impact on light transmittance, precise control of the printing parameters is essential. This study focuses on the experimental optimization of 3D printing conditions for hydrogel materials to improve their physical properties, particularly optical clarity, thereby enhancing their suitability for artificial corneal applications. Collagen derived from bovine Achilles tendons was chosen due to its excellent printability. A series of controlled experiments were conducted to systematically investigate the influence of key process parameters on hydrogel transparency. The findings enabled the identification of an optimized parameter set that significantly improved the optical properties of the 3D-printed biomimetic corneal stroma. Additionally, cell seeding and culture assays confirmed the favorable biocompatibility of the developed material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Gels for 3D Bioprinting in Tissue Engineering)
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