Electrospinning, 3D Printing, and Advanced Fabrication Technologies for Biomedical Scaffolds and Tissue Constructs
www.frontiersin.org
Sept. 4, 2026, 8:40 p.m.
Biofabrication has emerged as a transformative discipline in biomedical engineering, enabling the creation of three-dimensional tissue constructs that replicate native tissue architecture and function. Electrospinning, 3D printing, and advanced fabrication techniques—including melt electrowriting, near-field electrospinning, multi-material printing, and 4D shape-memory fabrication—now allow precise control over scaffold geometry, porosity, and mechanical properties. These technologies have been further enhanced by incorporating controlled release mechanisms for therapeutic agents such as drugs, growth factors, and biologics, enabling localized, sustained delivery at tissue repair sites. However, significant challenges remain in translating laboratory successes to clinical applications. Key bottlenecks include limited material libraries, reproducibility and standardization issues, scalable manufacturing, cell integration, and clinical validation. This Research Topic seeks multidisciplinary contributions integrating engineering, materials science, chemistry, and life sciences to address these barriers. The field now prioritizes developing robust, standardized, and scalable workflows that support medical device development and clinical translation, while simultaneously advancing scaffold architecture control, release functionality, and biological performance validation to facilitate real-world deployment.