Page 417 - IJB-9-4

International Journal of Bioprinting

REVIEW ARTICLE
Three-dimensional bioprinting of artificial blood

vessel: Process, bioinks, and challenges

Ya-Chen Hou 1,2,3 , Xiaolin Cui , Zhen Qin 1,2,3 , Chang Su 1,2,3 , Ge Zhang 1,2,3 ,
4
Jun-Nan Tang 1,2,3 *, Jing-An Li *, Jin-Ying Zhang 1,2,3 *
5
1 Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan,
China
2 Henan Province Key Laboratory of Cardiac Injury and Repair, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
3 Henan Province Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
4 School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China
5 School of Material Science and Engineering and Henan Key Laboratory of Advanced Magnesium
Alloy and Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold Technology (Ministry of Education),
Zhengzhou University, 100 Science Road, Zhengzhou, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Fine-tuned Hydrogels for 3D Bioprinting)

Abstract

The coronary artery bypass grafting is a main treatment for restoring the blood
supply to the ischemic site by bypassing the narrow part, thereby improving the
heart function of the patients. Autologous blood vessels are preferred in coronary
*Corresponding authors: artery bypass grafting, but their availability is often limited by due to the underlying
Jun-Nan Tang disease. Thus, tissue-engineered vascular grafts that are devoid of thrombosis and
(fcctangjn@zzu.edu.cn) have mechanical properties comparable to those of natural vessels are urgently
Jing-An Li
(lijingan@zzu.edu.cn) required for clinical applications. Most of the commercially available artificial
Jin-Ying Zhang implants are made from polymers, which are prone to thrombosis and restenosis.
(jyzhang@zzu.edu.cn) The biomimetic artificial blood vessel containing vascular tissue cells is the most
Citation: Hou Y-C, Cui X, Qin Z, ideal implant material. Due to its precision control ability, three-dimensional
et al., 2023, Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a promising method to prepare biomimetic system. In the 3D
bioprinting of artificial blood bioprinting process, the bioink is at the core state for building the topological
vessel: Process, bioinks, and
challenges. Int J Bioprint, 9(4): 740. structure and keeping the cell viable. Therefore, in this review, the basic properties
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.740 and viable materials of the bioink are discussed, and the research of natural polymers
Received: July 31, 2022 in bioink, including decellularized extracellular matrix, hyaluronic acid, and collagen,
is emphasized. Besides, the advantages of alginate and Pluronic F127, which are the
Accepted: October 02, 2022
mainstream sacrificial material during the preparation of artificial vascular graft, are
Published Online: April 28, 2023 also reviewed. Finally, an overview of the applications in the field of artificial blood
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). vessel is also presented.
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Three-dimensional bioprinting; Tissue-engineered vascular grafts; Artificial
License, permitting distribution, blood vessel; Bioink; Decellularized extracellular matrix
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: Whioce
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with
[1]
affiliations. an estimated 17.8 million deaths/year (233.1/100,000) . Bypass surgery is a conventional

Volume 9 Issue 4 (2023) 409 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.740