Biomaterial Strategies for Three-Dimensional Bioprinting and Drug Delivery Application

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is crucial for patient-specific biomedical implants and advanced drug delivery.
• Bioprinted constructs act as programmable depots for localized, sustained, and stimuli-responsive drug release.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review biomaterial design strategies for precise control over drug encapsulation, retention, and release kinetics in 3D bioprinted architectures.
• To explore the role of bioink properties and predictive modeling in optimizing drug delivery from bioprinted constructs.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of physicochemical and mechanical properties of bioinks (crosslinking density, porosity, degradation, viscoelasticity, swelling).
• Application of predictive modeling techniques, including finite element modeling (FEM) and machine learning (ML), to correlate material composition, printing parameters, and geometry with drug release.
• Review of emerging strategies like multi-material printing and stimuli-responsive biomaterials.

Main Results:

• Bioink properties directly influence drug loading efficiency and release dynamics.
• Predictive modeling enhances the correlation between printing variables and drug diffusion/degradation-mediated release.
• Advanced strategies enable spatially controlled and temporally regulated therapeutic delivery for combination therapies and personalized medicine.

Conclusions:

• Rational tuning of bioink properties and printing parameters is key for effective drug delivery systems.
• Predictive modeling and emerging strategies like multi-material printing offer significant potential for personalized medicine.
• Challenges remain in standardizing drug release characterization and assessing long-term stability for clinical translation.