Page 9 - IJB-10-1

International

Journal of Bioprinting

REVIEW ARTICLE
3D (bio)printing of magnetic hydrogels:

Formulation and applications in tissue
engineering

Duarte Almeida , Paola Sanjuan-Alberte *, João C. Silva *, and
1
1,2
1,2
Frederico Castelo Ferreira 1,2
1 Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior
Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
2 Associate Laboratory i4HB—Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Instituto Superior Técnico,
Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Bioprinting-based strategies for regenerative medicine, drug
development and food technology applications)

Abstract
Hydrogels have been widely explored in tissue engineering due to their versatile
and customizable properties in terms of their mechanical, biological, and chemical
features. These properties allow them to recreate the physiological structures of
the extracellular matrix in a highly hydrated state. Particularly, magnetic hydrogels
have shown great promise due to their biocompatibility, mechanical attributes,
and possibility to be controlled remotely. Three-dimensional (3D) (bio)printing has
emerged as an efficient method to fabricate 3D complex scaffolds from hydrogels
with a defined structure and porous microarchitecture, which is crucial for cell
*Corresponding authors: proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Therefore, combining magnetic-
João C. Silva responsive biomaterials with bioprinting strategies offers numerous advantages for
(joao.f.da.silva@tecnico.ulisboa.pt) tissue engineering applications. Despite the large number of reviews on magnetic
Paola Sanjuan-Alberte hydrogels available in the literature, they lack a clear focus on the fabrication of
(paola.alberte@tecnico.ulisboa.pt)
hydrogels through a 3D (bio)printing process. Thus, this review highlights not only
Citation: Almeida D, Sanjuan- the main characteristics and fabrication methods of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs),
Alberte P, Silva JC, Ferreira FC. 3D
(bio)printing of magnetic hydrogels: but also the strategies for their incorporation into hydrogels. Furthermore, we also
Formulation and applications in provide an overview of the current state of the art in injectable magnetic hydrogels,
tissue engineering. Int J Bioprint. which have the potential to be used as bioinks for 3D (bio)printing, envisaging several
2024;10(1): 0965.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.0965 applications in the regenerative medicine and biomedical engineering fields.
Received: May 20, 2023
Accepted: June 20, 2023 Keywords: Magnetic hydrogels; Magnetic stimulation, Tissue engineering;
Published Online: August 23, 2023
3D (bio)printing; Magnetic nanoparticles
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) polymeric structures, of natural or synthetic
properly cited. origin, able to incorporate large amounts of water into their structure. These materials
1
Publisher’s Note: AccScience are formed through physical and/or chemical crosslinking processes and present highly
Publishing remains neutral with versatile physical, chemical, mechanical, rheological, and biological characteristics.
2
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Typically, hydrogels are mechanically soft, rendering them useful for soft tissue
affiliations. engineering applications, and possess an interconnected porous network that is highly

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.0965