3D and 4D Printing of (Bio)Materials II

Dear Colleagues,

3D printing has emerged as one of the most versatile fabrication technologies, referred to as the additive manufacturing technique, which involves additives such as polymers and metals deposited in sequential layers to produce a 3D object (i.e., pills or medical devices). The convergence of additive manufacturing and printing materials is of significant aptitude for the advancement of person-specific products in the pharmaceutical and medical sphere. Geometric shapes as well as the visual effects of materials currently used in additive manufacturing play essential roles towards smooth fabrication with the highest shape fidelity possible. In most cases, especially in biomedical applications, functions of devices and structures are surprisingly limited by the complexity of the manageable shapes. Further, traditional processing techniques such as ink jet 2D printing or molding suffer from the failure of meeting the growing needs due to both the difficulty and production-associated cost. These inimitable needs have positioned 3D printing as an attractive option because of its supreme flexibility and versatility in producing complex structures. However, the application and practical potential of the current state of 3D printing is to some extent limited due to its speed for scale-up and meeting the growing demands for increased numbers of populations.

Therefore, it is projected that moving from the stepwise layer-by-layer process which is typical in 3D printing to a continuous process may significantly accelerate the practical potential of printing technology. Being based on traditional 3D printing, 4D printing can encompass a wide range of disciplines, such as materials science, bioengineering, and chemistry/chemical engineering, and has the true potential to emerge as the next-generation additive manufacturing technique. Using stimuli-responsive (also known as shape memory) materials, 4D printing creates structures that are capable of transforming from one shape to another, right off the print bed under various stimuli, such as heat, pH, water, etc.

The 3D printing process optimization, engineering, formulation compositions, advanced drug delivery, materials properties, and characterizations, and the state-of-the-art and limitations that exist in the current printing modalities will be explored in this proposed Special Issue of Polymers.

Dr. Mo Maniruzzaman
Guest Editor

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