Contents
Special Issue Topic

Exploration of 3D and 4D Printing in the Biomedical and Personalized Medicine Fields: Merits and Challenges

Guest Editor

Dr. Nermeen A. Elkasabgy E-Mail

Cairo University Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo, Egypt

Research Keywords: 3D printing; microfluidics; drug delivery; nanoplatforms; microparticles; sustained drug release; scaffolds; implants; tissue engineering; wound healing; brain targeting; pulmonary delivery; cancer; ocular delivery

About the Special lssue

3D printing, known as additive manufacturing, represents a breakthrough in the biomedical field. One of its prominent advantages is the compliance with the patients' specific medical needs through paving a new track for personalized medicine. Personalized medicine is considered an innovative paradigm in the biomedical field. Personalized medicine means tailoring an individualized treatment for diseases, which overcomes limitations encountered in traditional medicine's 'one-size-fits-all' approach. Avoiding severe side effects, enhancing the efficacy of drugs, saving time and cost as well as decreasing the failure rate of clinical experiments are all considered merits of personalized medicine.

To construct a 3D print, several printers can be used such as stereolithography, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, etc. 3D printing can be efficiently used in fabricating medical devices with customized shapes and architectures including stents, wound dressing, and limbs, etc. Additionally, 3D bioprinting has recently emerged as a magic option to develop tissue constructs capable of restoring lost or diseased tissues and minimizing the risk of tissue rejection by patients' immune system.

Fabricating 4D prints using stimuli-responsive polymers capable of shape alteration in response to external stimuli (e.g., light, temperature, electric/magnetic fields) has opened new avenues for advancing tissue regeneration, drug delivery, and biomedical device fabrication.

This special issue encourages researchers to submit their high quality research and review articles exploring the 3D and 4D printing in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields.

The Editors believe that this special issue of Exploration of Medicine will allow the scientific community to reflect how far we have advanced in the frontiers of knowledge, where accepted knowledge of the system may need revision, and target the new frontiers of discovery in reaching ultimate knowledge of how hormones act to both regulate and dysregulate body homeostasis.

Keywords: 3D printing, 4D printing, personalized medicine, customized pharmaceutics, implants, scaffolds, medical devices, 3D bioprinting, stimuli-responsive polymers, shape memory polymers, 3D printers

Published Articles

Open Access Review
3D and 4D printing of biomedical materials: current trends, challenges, and future outlook
Three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) printing have emerged as the next-generation fabrication technologies, covering a broad spectrum of areas, including construction, medicine, transpor
Published: February 06, 2024 Explor Med. 2024;5:17–47
9130 193 11
Open Access Original Article
Development of patient-specific 3D printed implants for total knee arthroplasty
Aim: Arthritis is a degenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of the knee joint, leading to aches, rigidity, and decreased mobility. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surg
Published: December 28, 2023 Explor Med. 2023;4:1033–1047
6094 114 1
Open Access Review
3D printing in biomedicine: advancing personalized care through additive manufacturing
The integration of three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques into the domains of biomedical research and personalized medicine highlights the evolving paradigm shifts within contemporary healthcare
Published: December 29, 2023 Explor Med. 2023;4:1135–1167
18639 292 33
Open Access Review
Recent advances in the development of bioartificial pancreas using 3D bioprinting for the treatment of type 1 diabetes: a review
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition that results from the destruction of insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreas. Current treatments for type 1 diabetes, such as insulin therapy and pancreatic
Published: December 06, 2023 Explor Med. 2023;4:886–922
5873 109 5
Open Access Review
An overview of current advances and pharmaceutical uses of 3D and 4D printing
The development of patient-specific prosthetics, medication administration, the manufacture of tissues and organs, and surgical planning have all benefited significantly from the use of three-dimens
Published: August 31, 2023 Explor Med. 2023;4:560–575
2601 51 11