Stimulus-assisted in situ bioprinting: advancing direct bench-to-bedside delivery

The fabrication of 3D bioconstructs using bioprinters will advance the field of regenerative medicine owing to its ability to facilitate clinical treatments. Additional stimulations have been applied to the bioconstructs to guide cells laden in the bioconstructs. However, the conventional bench-to-bedside delivery based on separate bioprinting and biostimulating processes may increase the risks of contamination and shape discordance owing to the considerably long process involved. In situ bioprinting is aimed at eliminating these risks, but stimulation strategies implied during in situ printing have not yet been extensively reviewed. Here, we present the concept of stimulus-assisted in situ bioprinting, which integrates the printing and biostimulation processes by directly applying stimuli to the bioink during fabrication.