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Biomimetics
Special Issues
Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials
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Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomimetics of Materials and Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 38844

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Baiheng Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: engineered living materials based on 3D printing and microfluidics; biomimetic chemistry and bioinspired functional materials; interfacial self-assembly of polymers and nanoparticles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Living cells are super factories to synthesize complex molecules and may act as building blocks to further assemble into living materials with delicate structure and extraordinary performance, which is especially characterized by the dynamic adaptability and smart responsiveness to external stimuli. Inspired by nature and powered by additive manufacturing techniques, the field of living materials thrives in recent years and has drawn much attention from a board of audience.

This Special Issue aims to collect recent advances in biomimicry and 3D Printing of living materials from an interdisciplinary community. To further its aims by providing an updated view of both basic and applied research, this Special Issue is divided into two main parts:

Part a) Biomimetic conceptions of living materials, mainly covering topics such as the design of the biological and chemical composition for living materials; the interactions between microorganisms and the matrix; the structural features of living materials and the structure–function relationship; the manufacturing by 3D printing.

Part b) Engineering living materials for applications, including wearable biosensors, biocatalysts, bioremediation, drug delivery, tissue regeneration and other biomedical applications.

We believe that this initiative will fill an important gap in living materials and will stimulate the enthusiastic contributions of leading experts in the field.

Dr. Baiheng Wu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • living material
  • biomimicry
  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D Printing
  • microorganisms
  • biosensors
  • biocatalysts
  • bioremediation
  • drug delivery
  • tissue engineering

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 29082 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Printing of Living Mycelium-Based Composites: Material Compositions, Workflows, and Ways to Mitigate Contamination
by Alale Mohseni, Fabricio Rocha Vieira, John A. Pecchia and Benay Gürsoy
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020257 - 14 Jun 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5269
Abstract
The construction industry makes a significant contribution to global CO2 emissions. Material extraction, processing, and demolition account for most of its environmental impact. As a response, there is an increasing interest in developing and implementing innovative biomaterials that support a circular economy, [...] Read more.
The construction industry makes a significant contribution to global CO2 emissions. Material extraction, processing, and demolition account for most of its environmental impact. As a response, there is an increasing interest in developing and implementing innovative biomaterials that support a circular economy, such as mycelium-based composites. The mycelium is the network of hyphae of fungi. Mycelium-based composites are renewable and biodegradable biomaterials obtained by ceasing mycelial growth on organic substrates, including agricultural waste. Cultivating mycelium-based composites within molds, however, is often wasteful, especially if molds are not reusable or recyclable. Shaping mycelium-based composites using 3D printing can minimize mold waste while allowing intricate forms to be fabricated. In this research, we explore the use of waste cardboard as a substrate for cultivating mycelium-based composites and the development of extrudable mixtures and workflows for 3D-printing mycelium-based components. In this paper, existing research on the use of mycelium-based material in recent 3D printing efforts was reviewed. This review is followed by the MycoPrint experiments that we conducted, and we focus on the main challenges that we faced (i.e., contamination) and the ways in which we addressed them. The results of this research demonstrate the feasibility of using waste cardboard as a substrate for cultivating mycelia and the potential for developing extrudable mixtures and workflows for 3D-printing mycelium-based components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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12 pages, 2123 KiB  
Article
Chitosan Cryogels Cross-Linked with 1,1,3-Triglycidyloxypropane: Mechanical Properties and Cytotoxicity for Cancer Cell 3D Cultures
by Yuliya Privar, Andrey Boroda, Alexandr Pestov, Daniil Kazantsev, Daniil Malyshev, Anna Skatova and Svetlana Bratskaya
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020228 - 29 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1199
Abstract
Here, we have presented a new method of 1,1,3-triglycidyloxypropane (TGP) synthesis and investigated how cross-linker branching affects mechanical properties and cytotoxicity of chitosan scaffolds in comparison with those cross-linked using diglycidyl ethers of 1,4-butandiol (BDDGE) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEGDGE). We have demonstrated that [...] Read more.
Here, we have presented a new method of 1,1,3-triglycidyloxypropane (TGP) synthesis and investigated how cross-linker branching affects mechanical properties and cytotoxicity of chitosan scaffolds in comparison with those cross-linked using diglycidyl ethers of 1,4-butandiol (BDDGE) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEGDGE). We have demonstrated that TGP is an efficient cross-linker for chitosan at a subzero temperature at TGP:chitosan molar ratios from 1:1 to 1:20. Although the elasticity of chitosan scaffolds increased in the following order of the cross-linkers PEGDGE > TGP > BDDGE, TGP provided cryogels with the highest compressive strength. Chitosan-TGP cryogels have shown low cytotoxicity for colorectal cancer HCT 116 cell line and supported the formation of 3D multicellular structures of the spherical shape and size up to 200 µm, while in more brittle chitosan-BDDGE cryogel this cell culture formed epithelia-like sheets. Hence, the selection of the cross-linker type and concentration for chitosan scaffold fabrication can be used to mimic the solid tumor microenvironment of certain human tissue, control matrix-driven changes in the morphology of cancer cell aggregates, and facilitate long-term experiments with 3D tumor cell cultures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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15 pages, 4205 KiB  
Article
Development of a Pneumatic-Driven Fiber-Shaped Robot Scaffold for Use as a Complex 3D Dynamic Culture System
by Muh Amdadul Hoque, Nasif Mahmood, Kiran M. Ali, Eelya Sefat, Yihan Huang, Emily Petersen, Shane Harrington, Xiaomeng Fang and Jessica M. Gluck
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020170 - 21 Apr 2023
Viewed by 15427
Abstract
Cells can sense and respond to different kinds of continuous mechanical strain in the human body. Mechanical stimulation needs to be included within the in vitro culture system to better mimic the existing complexity of in vivo biological systems. Existing commercial dynamic culture [...] Read more.
Cells can sense and respond to different kinds of continuous mechanical strain in the human body. Mechanical stimulation needs to be included within the in vitro culture system to better mimic the existing complexity of in vivo biological systems. Existing commercial dynamic culture systems are generally two-dimensional (2D) which fail to mimic the three-dimensional (3D) native microenvironment. In this study, a pneumatically driven fiber robot has been developed as a platform for 3D dynamic cell culture. The fiber robot can generate tunable contractions upon stimulation. The surface of the fiber robot is formed by a braiding structure, which provides promising surface contact and adequate space for cell culture. An in-house dynamic stimulation using the fiber robot was set up to maintain NIH3T3 cells in a controlled environment. The biocompatibility of the developed dynamic culture systems was analyzed using LIVE/DEAD™ and alamarBlue™ assays. The results showed that the dynamic culture system was able to support cell proliferation with minimal cytotoxicity similar to static cultures. However, we observed a decrease in cell viability in the case of a high strain rate in dynamic cultures. Differences in cell arrangement and proliferation were observed between braided sleeves made of different materials (nylon and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene). In summary, a simple and cost-effective 3D dynamic culture system has been proposed, which can be easily implemented to study complex biological phenomena in vitro. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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12 pages, 4660 KiB  
Article
Study on Performance Simulation of Vascular-like Flow Channel Model Based on TPMS Structure
by Jianping Shi, Fuyin Wei, Bilal Chouraki, Xianglong Sun, Jiayu Wei and Liya Zhu
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010069 - 06 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1729
Abstract
In medical validation experiments, such as drug testing and clinical trials, 3D bioprinted biomimetic tissues, especially those containing blood vessels, can be used to replace animal models. The difficulty in the viability of printed biomimetic tissues, in general, lies in the provision of [...] Read more.
In medical validation experiments, such as drug testing and clinical trials, 3D bioprinted biomimetic tissues, especially those containing blood vessels, can be used to replace animal models. The difficulty in the viability of printed biomimetic tissues, in general, lies in the provision of adequate oxygen and nutrients to the internal regions. This is to ensure normal cellular metabolic activity. The construction of a flow channel network in the tissue is an effective way to address this challenge by both allowing nutrients to diffuse and providing sufficient nutrients for internal cell growth and by removing metabolic waste in a timely manner. In this paper, a three-dimensional TPMS vascular flow channel network model was developed and simulated to analyse the effect of perfusion pressure on blood flow rate and vascular-like flow channel wall pressure when the perfusion pressure varies. Based on the simulation results, the in vitro perfusion culture parameters were optimised to improve the structure of the porous structure model of the vascular-like flow channel, avoiding perfusion failure due to unreasonable perfusion pressure settings or necrosis of cells without sufficient nutrients due to the lack of fluid passing through some of the channels, and the research work promotes the development of tissue engineering in vitro culture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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Review

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39 pages, 3903 KiB  
Review
The Extracellular Matrix: Its Composition, Function, Remodeling, and Role in Tumorigenesis
by Kevin Dzobo and Collet Dandara
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020146 - 05 Apr 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7142
Abstract
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a ubiquitous member of the body and is key to the maintenance of tissue and organ integrity. Initially thought to be a bystander in many cellular processes, the extracellular matrix has been shown to have diverse components that [...] Read more.
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a ubiquitous member of the body and is key to the maintenance of tissue and organ integrity. Initially thought to be a bystander in many cellular processes, the extracellular matrix has been shown to have diverse components that regulate and activate many cellular processes and ultimately influence cell phenotype. Importantly, the ECM’s composition, architecture, and stiffness/elasticity influence cellular phenotypes. Under normal conditions and during development, the synthesized ECM constantly undergoes degradation and remodeling processes via the action of matrix proteases that maintain tissue homeostasis. In many pathological conditions including fibrosis and cancer, ECM synthesis, remodeling, and degradation is dysregulated, causing its integrity to be altered. Both physical and chemical cues from the ECM are sensed via receptors including integrins and play key roles in driving cellular proliferation and differentiation and in the progression of various diseases such as cancers. Advances in ‘omics’ technologies have seen an increase in studies focusing on bidirectional cell–matrix interactions, and here, we highlight the emerging knowledge on the role played by the ECM during normal development and in pathological conditions. This review summarizes current ECM-targeted therapies that can modify ECM tumors to overcome drug resistance and better cancer treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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26 pages, 4553 KiB  
Review
Convergence of 3D Bioprinting and Nanotechnology in Tissue Engineering Scaffolds
by Shike Zhang, Xin Chen, Mengyao Shan, Zijuan Hao, Xiaoyang Zhang, Lingxian Meng, Zhen Zhai, Linlin Zhang, Xuying Liu and Xianghong Wang
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010094 - 26 Feb 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4451
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as a promising scaffold fabrication strategy for tissue engineering with excellent control over scaffold geometry and microstructure. Nanobiomaterials as bioinks play a key role in manipulating the cellular microenvironment to alter its growth and development. This review first [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as a promising scaffold fabrication strategy for tissue engineering with excellent control over scaffold geometry and microstructure. Nanobiomaterials as bioinks play a key role in manipulating the cellular microenvironment to alter its growth and development. This review first introduces the commonly used nanomaterials in tissue engineering scaffolds, including natural polymers, synthetic polymers, and polymer derivatives, and reveals the improvement of nanomaterials on scaffold performance. Second, the 3D bioprinting technologies of inkjet-based bioprinting, extrusion-based bioprinting, laser-assisted bioprinting, and stereolithography bioprinting are comprehensively itemized, and the advantages and underlying mechanisms are revealed. Then the convergence of 3D bioprinting and nanotechnology applications in tissue engineering scaffolds, such as bone, nerve, blood vessel, tendon, and internal organs, are discussed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of convergence of 3D bioprinting and nanotechnology are proposed. This review will provide scientific guidance to develop 3D bioprinting tissue engineering scaffolds by nanotechnology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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15 pages, 1193 KiB  
Review
Biomimicry and 3D-Printing of Mussel Adhesive Proteins for Regeneration of the Periodontium—A Review
by Jan C. Kwan, Jay Dondani, Janaki Iyer, Hasan A. Muaddi, Thomas T. Nguyen and Simon D. Tran
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010078 - 12 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2365
Abstract
Innovation in the healthcare profession to solve complex human problems has always been emulated and based on solutions proven by nature. The conception of different biomimetic materials has allowed for extensive research that spans several fields, including biomechanics, material sciences, and microbiology. Due [...] Read more.
Innovation in the healthcare profession to solve complex human problems has always been emulated and based on solutions proven by nature. The conception of different biomimetic materials has allowed for extensive research that spans several fields, including biomechanics, material sciences, and microbiology. Due to the atypical characteristics of these biomaterials, dentistry can benefit from these applications in tissue engineering, regeneration, and replacement. This review highlights an overview of the application of different biomimetic biomaterials in dentistry and discusses the key biomaterials (hydroxyapatite, collagen, polymers) and biomimetic approaches (3D scaffolds, guided bone and tissue regeneration, bioadhesive gels) that have been researched to treat periodontal and peri-implant diseases in both natural dentition and dental implants. Following this, we focus on the recent novel application of mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) and their appealing adhesive properties, in addition to their key chemical and structural properties that relate to the engineering, regeneration, and replacement of important anatomical structures in the periodontium, such as the periodontal ligament (PDL). We also outline the potential challenges in employing MAPs as a biomimetic biomaterial in dentistry based on the current evidence in the literature. This provides insight into the possible increased functional longevity of natural dentition that can be translated to implant dentistry in the near future. These strategies, paired with 3D printing and its clinical application in natural dentition and implant dentistry, develop the potential of a biomimetic approach to overcoming clinical problems in dentistry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimicry and 3D Printing of Living Materials)
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