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Updated: Jan 2, 2026
Bioprinting Cellularized Constructs Using a Tissue-specific Hydrogel Bioink
Published on: April 21, 2016
Leveling Up Hydrogels: Hybrid Systems in Tissue Engineering
Sara C Neves1, Lorenzo Moroni2, Cristina C Barrias3
1Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Departamento de Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais, Porto, Portugal; Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (MERLN), Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Hydrogels can mimic several features of the cell native microenvironment and have been widely used as synthetic extracellular matrices (ECMs) in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). However, some applications have specifications that hydrogels cannot efficiently fulfill on their own. Incorporating reinforcing structures like fibrous scaffolds or particles into hydrogels, as hybrid systems, is a promising strategy to improve their functionality. We describe recent advances in the fabrication and application of these hybrid systems, where structural properties and stimuli responsiveness of hydrogels are enhanced while their ECM-like features are preserved. Furthermore, we discuss how these systems can contribute to the development of more complex tissue engineered structures in the rapidly evolving field of TERM.
