Bibliometric Analysis-Based Review of Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing Method (1994-2020)

Research Progress in 3D Printed Biobased and Biodegradable Polyester/Ceramic Composite Materials: Applications and Challenges in Bone Tissue Engineering

Transplantation of bone implants is currently recognized as one of the most effective means of treating bone defects. Biobased and biodegradable polyester composites combine the good mechanical and degradable properties of polyester, thereby providing an alternative for bone implant materials. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) accelerates bone defect repair by simulating the bone microenvironment. Composite scaffolds support bone formation and further accelerate the process of bone repair. The introduction of 3D printing technology enables the preparation of scaffolds to be more precise, reproducible, and flexible, which is a very promising development. This review presents the physical properties of BTE scaffolds and summarizes the strategies adopted by domestic and international scholars to improve the properties of scaffolds based on biobased and biodegradable polyester/ceramic composites in recent years. In addition, future development prospects in the field and the challenges of expanding production in clinical applications are presented.

Three-Dimensionally Printed Microsystems to Facilitate Flow-Based Study of Cells from Neurovascular Barriers of the Retina

Rapid prototyping has produced accessible manufacturing methods that offer faster and more cost-effective ways to develop microscale systems for cellular testing. Commercial 3D printers are now increasingly adapted for soft lithography, where elastomers are used in tandem with 3D-printed substrates to produce in vitro cell assays. Newfound abilities to prototype cellular systems have begun to expand fundamental bioengineering research in the visual system to complement tissue engineering studies reliant upon complex microtechnology. This project used 3D printing to develop elastomeric devices that examined the responses of retinal cells to flow. Our experiments fabricated molds for elastomers using metal milling, resin stereolithography, and fused deposition modeling via plastic 3D printing. The systems were connected to flow pumps to simulate different flow conditions and examined phenotypic responses of endothelial and neural cells significant to neurovascular barriers of the retina. The results indicated that microdevices produced using 3D-printed methods demonstrated differences in cell survival and morphology in response to external flow that are significant to barrier tissue function. Modern 3D printing technology shows great potential for the rapid production and testing of retinal cell responses that will contribute to both our understanding of fundamental cell response and the development of new therapies. Future studies will incorporate varied flow stimuli as well as different extracellular matrices and expanded subsets of retinal cells.

Scientometric Review for Research Patterns on Additive Manufacturing of Lattice Structures

Over the past 15 years, interest in additive manufacturing (AM) on lattice structures has significantly increased in producing 3D/4D objects. The purpose of this study is to gain a thorough grasp of the research pattern and the condition of the field's research today as well as identify obstacles towards future research. To accomplish the purpose, this work undertakes a scientometric analysis of the international research conducted on additive manufacturing for lattice structure materials published from 2002 to 2022. A total of 1290 journal articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database and 1766 journal articles from the Scopus database were found using a search system. This paper applied scientometric science, which is based on bibliometric analysis. The data were subjected to a scientometric study, which looked at the number of publications, authorship, regions by countries, keyword co-occurrence, literature coupling, and scientometric mapping. VOSviewer was used to establish research patterns, visualize maps, and identify transcendental issues. Thus, the quantitative determination of the primary research framework, papers, and themes of this research field was possible. In order to shed light on current developments in additive manufacturing for lattice structures, an extensive systematic study is provided. The scientometric analysis revealed a strong bias towards researching AM on lattice structures but little concentration on technologies that emerge from it. It also outlined its unmet research needs, which can benefit both the industry and academia. This review makes a prediction for the future, with contributions by educating researchers, manufacturers, and other experts on the current state of AM for lattice structures.