The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated advancements in
pharmaceutical, medical device and manufacturing technologies due
to disrupted supply chains and new demands for treatments and
materials. Among them is 3D bioprinting, which involves arranging
encapsulated cells or other biological materials (bioinks) using a
3D printer to construct tissue, organs or biocompatible scaffolds
that promote tissue growth.
3D bioprinting is decades old, and yet the past 12 months of the
pandemic have yielded breakthroughs in treatment techniques and
vaccinations in record time. Pandemic-related bioprinting appears
to fall into three general categories:
- Modeling human tissue and organs to understand how SARS-CoV-2
affects the human body.