Citation: Wu, Y.; Lu, Y.; Zhao, M.;
Bosiakov, S.; Li, L. A Critical Review
of Additive Manufacturing
Techniques and Associated
Biomaterials Used in Bone Tissue
Engineering. Polymers 2022, 14, 2117.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
polym14102117
Academic Editor: Alberto
Romero García
Received: 26 March 2022
Accepted: 11 May 2022
Published: 23 May 2022
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Review
A Critical Review of Additive Manufacturing Techniques and
Associated Biomaterials Used in Bone Tissue Engineering
Yanli Wu
1
, Yongtao Lu
1,2
, Ming Zhao
1
, Sergei Bosiakov
3
and Lei Li
4,
*
1
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road,
Dalian 116024, China; wyl0127@mail.dlut.edu.cn (Y.W.); yongtaolu@dlut.edu.cn (Y.L.);
zhaoming@dlut.edu.cn (M.Z.)
2
DUT-BSU Joint Institute, Dalian University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China
3
Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Belarusian State University, No. 4 Nezavisimosti Avenue,
220030 Minsk, Belarus; bosiakov@bsu.by
4
Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, No. 467
Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
* Correspondence: changhaibai@163.com
Abstract:
With the ability to fabricate complex structures while meeting individual needs, additive
manufacturing (AM) offers unprecedented opportunities for bone tissue engineering in the biomedi-
cal field. However, traditional metal implants have many adverse effects due to their poor integration
with host tissues, and therefore new material implants with porous structures are gradually being
developed that are suitable for clinical medical applications. From the perspectives of additive
manufacturing technology and materials, this article discusses a suitable manufacturing process
for ideal materials for biological bone tissue engineering. It begins with a review of the methods
and applicable materials in existing additive manufacturing technologies and their applications
in biomedicine, introducing the advantages and disadvantages of various AM technologies. The
properties of materials including metals and polymers, commonly used AM technologies, recent
developments, and their applications in bone tissue engineering are discussed in detail and sum-
marized. In addition, the main challenges for different metallic and polymer materials, such as
biodegradability, anisotropy, growth factors to promote the osteogenic capacity, and enhancement of
mechanical properties are also introduced. Finally, the development prospects for AM technologies
and biomaterials in bone tissue engineering are considered.
Keywords: additive manufacturing; materials; bone tissue engineering; biomaterials; polymers
1. Introduction
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a technology that accumulates materials layer by
layer, also known as 3D printing. Compared with traditional manufacturing processes,
it has significant advantages such as a high degree of freedom in design, low cost, and
high efficiency. Since its birth in the 1980s, AM technology has developed rapidly and
has had a significant impact on the manufacturing industry, opening up new frontiers for
engineering applications in various industrial sectors [
1
]. Over the past three decades,
AM technologies have been widely used in biomedical fields, with advantages such as
patient-specific implants. One of the main strengths of this technology is the ability to
produce patient-specific devices and treatments. Since there are some mechanisms that
are completely material-dependent, AM technology can be considered as a material-based
manufacturing technology [2].
It appears that the aging population and the shortage of donor organs [
3
] have accel-
erated the demand for bioimplants. Bioimplants are implants used in medical treatment
applications, such as porous bone implants. Due to factors such as traumatic injury, birth
Polymers 2022, 14, 2117. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14102117 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers
