Advances in light-based 3D bioprinting

Light-based bioprinting has rapidly expanded as versatile platforms to replicate the complex architectures of native tissues, by allowing spatio-temporal localisation of biomaterials and cells. These approaches rely on bioresins composed of photocrosslinkable polymers, photoinitiators, and, where appropriate, photoabsorbers. In this perspective, we summarise recent technological progress in light-based bioprinting, moving beyond mere structural complexity toward the creation of engineered constructs that recapitulate the native tissue function. We discuss the development of bioresins adapted from a long history of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research, with an emphasis on shifting the field from structural mimicry toward physiologically relevant biological function. We also highlight current limitations, including the constraints of bioprinting workflow, bioresin compositions, and the need to focus more on downstream cellular signalling and function, rather than just basic cytocompatibility. Finally, we suggest several considerations for next-generation bioresin and printing strategies better tailored for clinical translation, including improved control over cellular microenvironments and standardized, regulatory-accepted and reproducible formulations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Biofabrication
Published
2026-05-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/ae7208
Primary Topic
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Advances in light-based 3D bioprinting

Lino Prados‐Martin, Riccardo Levato, S. Van Vlierberghe, Tomasz Jüngst et al.
Biofabrication
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
article

Advances in light-based 3D bioprinting

Lino Prados‐Martin, Riccardo Levato, S. Van Vlierberghe, Tomasz Jüngst, Jinah Jang, Hien A Tran, Tim B F Woodfield, Jason A Burdick, Carlos Mota, Andrew Daly, Khoon S Lim, Y. Shrike Zhang, Marcy Zenobi-Wong
article en

Abstract

Light-based bioprinting has rapidly expanded as versatile platforms to replicate the complex architectures of native tissues, by allowing spatio-temporal localisation of biomaterials and cells. These approaches rely on bioresins composed of photocrosslinkable polymers, photoinitiators, and, where appropriate, photoabsorbers. In this perspective, we summarise recent technological progress in light-based bioprinting, moving beyond mere structural complexity toward the creation of engineered constructs that recapitulate the native tissue function. We discuss the development of bioresins adapted from a long history of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research, with an emphasis on shifting the field from structural mimicry toward physiologically relevant biological function. We also highlight current limitations, including the constraints of bioprinting workflow, bioresin compositions, and the need to focus more on downstream cellular signalling and function, rather than just basic cytocompatibility. Finally, we suggest several considerations for next-generation bioresin and printing strategies better tailored for clinical translation, including improved control over cellular microenvironments and standardized, regulatory-accepted and reproducible formulations.

Biofabrication
Pohang University of Science and Technology (KR), The University of Sydney (AU), Harvard University (US), University of Colorado Boulder (US), Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE), Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (CH), Ghent University Hospital (BE), University of Colorado System (US), University Medical Center Utrecht (NL), Maastricht University (NL), ETH Zurich (CH), Institute of Polymers (BG), Bavarian Polymer Institute (DE), University of Otago (NZ)
NSW Ministry of Health, Australian Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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