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Published on: July 2, 2017
Application of 4D printing and bioprinting in cardiovascular tissue engineering
Zijing Zhou1, Weijie Tang2, Jinfu Yang2
1Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Middle Renmin Road 139, 410011 Changsha, China.
Insights
4D bioprinting offers a promising solution for cardiovascular diseases by enabling the creation of functional myocardial tissue. This advanced biomedical engineering approach aims to improve patient outcomes where traditional therapies fall short.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are the leading global cause of death.
- Current treatments like surgery and medication cannot fully repair cardiomyocyte loss after myocardial ischemia.
- Biomedical engineering strategies are needed for effective myocardial tissue replacement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of 4D bioprinting in cardiovascular diseases.
- To discuss the challenges and limitations in 4D bioprinting development.
- To explore the future prospects of 4D bioprinting in this field.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on 4D bioprinting and cardiovascular applications.
- Analysis of the principles of 4D bioprinting, including time-dependent material properties.
- Discussion of biocompatibility aspects of 4D bioprinted constructs.
Main Results:
- 4D bioprinting allows for the creation of dynamic, functional cardiac tissue.
- It offers advantages over traditional 3D printing by incorporating time-dependent changes.
- Biocompatible materials are crucial for successful 4D bioprinting in cardiovascular regeneration.
Conclusions:
- 4D bioprinting represents a revolutionary technology for treating cardiovascular diseases.
- Addressing current bottlenecks is essential for its clinical translation.
- The future holds significant potential for 4D bioprinting in regenerative cardiovascular medicine.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular diseases have remained the leading cause of death worldwide for the past 20 years. The current clinical therapeutic measures, including bypass surgery, stent implantation and pharmacotherapy, are not enough to repair the massive loss of cardiomyocytes after myocardial ischemia. Timely replenishment with functional myocardial tissue via biomedical engineering is the most direct and effective means to improve the prognosis and survival rate of patients. It is widely recognized that 4D printing technology introduces an additional dimension of time in comparison with traditional 3D printing. Additionally, in the context of 4D bioprinting, both the printed material and the resulting product are designed to be biocompatible, which will be the mainstream of bioprinting in the future. Thus, this review focuses on the application of 4D bioprinting in cardiovascular diseases, discusses the bottleneck of the development of 4D bioprinting, and finally looks forward to the future direction and prospect of this revolutionary technology.
