Current achievements in 3D bioprinting technology of chitosan and its hybrids

Abstract

In recent years, additive manufacturing, or in other words three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, has rapidly become one of the hot topics in the world. Among the vast majority of materials, chitosan and its hybrids with various wonderful features have played a noteworthy role in this science. There are lots of studies on the applications of chitosan and its derivatives in the biomedical field, but it is worth mentioning that one of the main differences of the present work with others is the consideration of the latest research on 3D bioprinted chitosan constructs, especially for biomedical applications. For this aim, this mini review starts with a definition and a brief history of 3D printing technology and the position and role of chitosan and its hybrids in this area. Subsequently, a critical discussion on current developments of chitosan for diverse applications especially for tissue engineering is provided.