Photocrosslinking-based bioprinting: Examining crosslinking schemes

Abstract

Bioprinting has been widely used for rapid fabrication of biomimetic tissues and organs with the goal of closely mimicking biological structures and their functionalities. Photocrosslinking has emerged as a promising strategy to address several challenges in bioprinting since light is minimally invasive and, by spatiotemporally controlling the application of light, it is possible to crosslink a photosensitive cell-laden bioink locally and on demand to encapsulate cells without significantly reducing cell viability. There have been several approaches to photocrosslinking-based bioprinting. Here, we examine various photocrosslinking schemes in order to guide future innovation in this domain, which will ultimately lead to a range of biomedical applications including generating organs for transplantation, creating tissues for pharmaceutical research, and developing disease models.