MXene-Reinforced 3D-Printed Biomatrices: Synthesis, Characterization, and Intelligent Theragenerative Applications

Increasing prevalence of organ and tissue damage underscores the need for a simultaneous therapeutic and regenerative strategy, referred to as 'therageneration.' In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as a promising tool in theragenerative medicine. Despite significant progress, the lack of efficient theragenerative biomatrices has remained a key challenge with the strategy. The convergence of nanotechnology and 3D bioprinting has demonstrated enormous potential for creating responsive and efficient theragenerative biomatrices. Nanomaterial additives exhibit dimension-dependent characteristics that not only enhance the physical, chemical, and biological properties of conventional bioinks but also bestow them with trigger-reactive functionalities. Recent innovations in two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanomaterials have led to the development of highly responsive and multipurpose biocomposite inks for the printing of theragenerative biomatrices or scaffolds. These MXene biomatrices are being utilized to address a spectrum of unmet therapeutic and regenerative challenges in complex diseases such as skin and bone diseases, cardiac problems, and so on. The present review articulates the recent innovations in 3D-printed novel MXene biomatrices or scaffolds for various intelligent theragenerative applications. Additionally, the review presents an in-depth analysis of the necessity of MXenes in 3D printing, detailing MXene bioink formulation strategies and the benefits they offer compared to other 2D materials. The review also covers the biosafety issues, the other challenges encountered, and the prospects for MXene-derived theragenerative biomatrices, with a focus on advancing their clinical applications.