Abstract
Additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) has excellent potential for developing advanced materials and technologies, and it's extensively been explored in several areas such as tissue engineering, cancer research, multifunctional devices, surgical preparation, and printable electronics than a decade. This review highlights the emerging advances in additive manufacturing-enabled hydrogels and their composites. The mechanical features of 3D printed hydrogels that show strong tissue adaptability, and the hydrogels that incorporate water within moist states, demonstrate their potential for a multitude of applications, for example, wound dressings. Recently, the 3D printing of bio-based hydrogels and other polymers has been considered a viable path toward ultimate regenerative treatment. Here, we provide an overview of (i) polymer additive manufacturing processes, (ii) different polysaccharides-based hydrogels, and (iii) the different applications of bio-based hydrogels in 3D printing. Lastly, we conclude our discussion by highlighting the future research directions.
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