Advances in Bioprinting, Tissue Engineering, and Regenerative Medicine

Dear Colleagues,

Tissue engineering emerged about four decades ago with the ambitious aim of creating replacement organs in the lab. Although alleviating transplantable organ shortage remains a long-term goal, contingent with advances in polymer chemistry and cell biology, tissue engineering is already a dynamic research field with practical applications.

For example, microcarriers loaded with drugs and growth factors are combined with three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting and injection techniques to build tissue constructs suitable for articular cartilage repair. Decellularized liver extracellular matrix, 3D nano-scaffolds, and bioprinting are used to create templates for liver regeneration. The tenogenic differentiation of stem cells, electrospinning, and textile industry methods show promise for patients with tendon injuries. Bioprinted extracellular vesicles were found to promote skin regeneration. Remarkably, tissue engineering techniques were found to boost the efficacy of stem cell therapies in regenerative medicine.

Engineered human tissues also serve as disease models, often in combination with microfluidic devices or bioreactors that ensure biomimetic conditions. Engineered tissue constructs also serve as drug testing platforms, bridging the gap between animal models and clinical trials. Bioprinted skin models, for instance, enable a detailed look into skin aging and allow for the testing of novel drugs and cosmetics. Finally, complex physiological interactions are replicated in tissue-on-a-chip devices with promising results in drug development.

This Special Issue invites contributions from the broad research field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It seeks to trigger a synergistic effect by bringing together investigators with diverse backgrounds.

Prof. Dr. Adrian Neagu
Guest Editor

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