Recent Advances in Additive Manufacturing of Polycaprolactone-Based Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications: A Comprehensive Review

Purpose

Tissue engineering holds an immense potential for treating the human body, especially tissue or bone loss, which is recognized as a condition that existing treatment models are unable to adequately address or provide appropriate therapeutic. The burgeoning field of tissue engineering (TE) seeks to overcome the limitations of existing medical strategies through advanced biomaterial-based scaffolds fabricated using additive manufacturing (AM).

Methods

The systemic review investigates the use of polycaprolactone through AM as a polymeric material in the fabrication of carriers for the management of complications associated with skin tissue and bone regeneration.

Results

Various polymeric materials have demonstrated efficacy and utility in tissue engineering. However, the versatility of PCL has gained significant interest and advancements with AM in the fabrication of scaffolds specifically for skin and bone regeneration. Three-dimensional (3D) printing can produce consumer-centric products that are highly desirable for bone tissue engineering. The enormous interest in using AM by science, engineering, and medical communities has led to various developments of the 3D printing technology along with biomedical products.

Conclusion

This review discusses the use of PCL with different AM strategies for TE applications. Recent advancements in PCL-based scaffolds and inks, as well as the associated challenges and difficulties, are discussed along with distinctive design strategies and fabrication techniques employed to fabricate scaffolds with optimal properties for tissue regeneration. Moreover, clinical and preclinical studies have affirmed the effectiveness of PCL-based scaffolds and the advantages of AM.

Lay Summary

Skin tissue and bone regeneration stand as crucial research areas in regenerative medicine, where the integration of 3D printing technology with polymeric scaffold-based approaches shows immense potential. Skin tissue engineering aims to restore dermal and epidermal layers, fostering wound healing, barrier function, and aesthetic outcomes through the use of PCL. These AM-PCL-based scaffolds have gained attention due to advancements in TE, particularly for regenerative engineering. Moreover, PCL is favored for its excellent mechanical properties, low immunogenicity, and ability to support cell growth, while a modification inclusive of altering scaffold characteristics (porosity, surface chemistry, and mechanical property), which are crucial for effective cell-material interaction, and subsequent regeneration make it excellent polymeric materials in this class. Thus, this review provides an elaborative update on AM-PCL-based scaffold for TE application with updated information to fill the gap in knowledge.

Graphical Abstract