Advanced Functional Materials and 3D Printing for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery Applications

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decade, 3D printing (3DP) has emerged as a promising biofabrication strategy that is able to address many of the challenges faced in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications for a variety of human diseases. This technology offers the opportunity of processing a wide range of materials with a precise control over architectural features at the micro- and nanoscale, paving the way for the production of tailored 3D functional devices/systems.

Advanced materials that can become bioactive, perform a specific function in response to an external stimulus (i.e., heat, moisture, light, magnetic field or pH), or can change shape or colour to offer new approaches for solving biomedical and clinical challenges.

Improvements in the fabrication strategies of micro- and nanotechnologies as drug delivery systems provide higher control levels of 3D devices over size, shape/geometry, drug loading, and release. Taken together, these are all crucial when it comes to directing cell–material interactions, promoting tissue repair and regeneration, as well as developing treatments for different pathologies (from inflammation to cancer).

Thus, this Special Issue invites papers that show advances in the area of functional materials processed via 3DP for both tissue engineering and drug delivery applications, covering recent developments (including regulatory considerations and modelling approaches) and future directions towards patient-specific treatments and devices. Original research papers, communications, and critical reviews are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions!

Dr. Annalisa Tirella
Dr. Devid Maniglio
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines 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.