3D Printing of Hydrogels: Design, Strategies, and Biomedical Applications

Hydrogel-based natural/synthetic formulations are the potential tools for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, intelligent drug delivery, and cancer therapy due to their remarkable resemblance to ECM (extracellular matrix). This chapter provides an overview of the various hydrogel materials for 3D printing as well as their 3D printable architecture for biomedical applications. The cellular effect mechanism is then stated in light of the ECM imitation ability, revealing the complete biocompatibility of 3D NC hydrogel materials. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have advanced to a new level of development as a result of recent advances in biology, material sciences, and, in particular, three-dimensional (3D) printing, an emerging additive manufacturing process. 3D printing is a sophisticated bio-fabrication process that can create patient-specific scaffolds with complicated geometries while hosting cells and bioactive substances to speed up tissue regeneration. This chapter sheds light on the recent development in this field and how the natural and biocompatible polymeric hydrogel turned into structured 3D-printed architecture.