Chapter 2 - Techniques and Software Used in 3D Printing for Nanomedicine Applications

Abstract

Nanomedicine aims to design nanomaterials for use in tissue engineering, nanobiosensors, nanodiagnostic kits, and smart drug delivery system. Computer-aided engineering with 3D printing techniques are emerging fields for developing biological substitutes from millimeter to nanometer size, which are utilized to restore, maintain, or improve cellular function and to develop biomaterials, scaffolds, and tissues in nanometer sizes for biomedical applications such as cancer treatment, organs on chips, nerve cells, biosensors, diagnostic kits. To design and optimize micro- to nanoarchitecture of tissues, nanocomposites, drug delivery carrier molecules, and biodegradable scaffold materials, which will meet the mechanical and physiologic properties, various computer-aided designing and rapid prototyping software are utilized for 3D printing at the nanoscale (also known as Solid Freeform Fabrication), such as MIMICS, Pro E, CATIA, 3D Slash, FreeCAD, HyperMesh, and many more that utilize various imaging techniques including computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. In the first part of this chapter, introduction of 3D printing is elaborated followed by the explanation of various latest 3D printing techniques with bioink utilized for nanomedicine applications and the latest software used for 3D printing of nanomaterials for biomedical applications, with their current status. Finally we discuss about the challenges and future prospects of 3D printing for nanomedicine and then end the chapter with a conclusion.