Lectio Magistralis “Biofabrication: where we have been and where we are going”

Biofabrication is a young field of research that aims at the automated generation of hierarchical tissue-like structures from cells and materials through automated procedures in Bioprinting or Bioassembly [1]. Despite some remarkable early successes, the lack of variety in materials that can be formulated together with cells for Bioprinting, so called Bioinks [2], has for long been one major drawback for the field [3]. However, recent years have seen a tremendous progress, with the transformation of the now existing materials basis and fabrication power to structures with biological function [4]. This lesson will provide an introduction to the field and critically review the current state of the art, including examples of our own recent research activity and a discussion on current challenges.

References

[1] Biofabrication 2016, 8, 013001

[2] Biofabrication 2019, 11, 013001

[3] Chemical Reviews 2016, 116 (3), 1496

[4] Advanced Materials 2020, 32, 1906423