Advanced Manufacturing for Biomaterials and Biological Materials, Part I

Manufacturing and processing are becoming increasingly important for biomaterials, bioinspired materials, and biological materials. This includes additive manufacturing techniques such as three-dimensional (3D) printing, advanced manufacturing techniques such as freeze casting, and advanced materials processing methods based on microwaves and light. These techniques allow for increasing degrees of complexity, which is particularly helpful to mimic structures observed in natural materials. However, since biomaterials and biological materials require the use of particular materials classes and often have additional requirements, such as biocompatibility, significant research is required to implement these new manufacturing techniques. This review highlights that the use of SMMs as feedstock materials for additive manufacturing (AM) has driven a new layer in 3D printing, being known as four-dimensional (4D) printing, where fabricated parts can be actuated and transformed after fabrication. This development has brought about tremendous opportunities in biomedical applications by allowing mass customization of devices and implants to be patient specific.