3D-printed biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering: An overview, current stage and future perspectives

Tissue engineering is widely regarded as a promising alternative for replacing or treating damaged tissue. In this field, scaffolds play a pivotal role, in which mechanical properties, degradation time, and biological response are critical factors. Regarding the biological response, considerations such as biocompatibility, inflammatory response, and short-term side effects are essential to ensure successful clinical outcomes. Due to their nontoxicity and minimal immune responses, some biodegradable polymers such as PLA, PCL and PGA show significant promise in tissue engineering applications. However, further advancements are needed to enhance biocompatibility, simplify processability, optimize mechanical properties, and achieve controllable degradation rates. Moreover, there is a growing focus on personalized designs and precise microstructures to meet patients’ needs and requirements, which are achieved through additive manufacturing technologies. Therefore, selecting the most suitable biomaterials and identifying appropriate manufacturing methods remain major challenges in the development of tissue-engineered scaffolds. This review provides an overview of the current state of three-dimensional (3D) printable biodegradable polymers and their applications in tissue engineering. Additionally, it examines key aspects of advanced manufacturing technologies for polymer scaffolds in targeted tissue applications. Overall, the review highlights the advantages and limitations of biodegradable polymers and their associated 3D printing techniques, identifies current challenges and aims to offer insights into potential directions for future research.