Chitosan Biopolymer for 3D Printing: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to completely redefine manufacturing in several areas. Manufacturers are now looking to 3D printing as a complement to existing and traditional manufacturing methods, particularly in the fabrication of biopolymer composites used for medical applications such as tissue engineering and artificial organ development. In light of the need for suitable materials to apply AM technologies to medicine, this chapter covers the benefits and methodology of using chitosan-based biopolymer and its composites with AM techniques. The fundamental extraction of chitin, and its derivative chitosan, as well as the latter’s chemical, biological, and mechanical properties are reviewed and related to challenges with conventional manufacturing techniques such as compression molding, solution casting, and injection molding. Based on the critical review of the medical manufacturing literature, it is clear that increased functional requirements and complex geometries are required to produce higherperforming parts. Conventional techniques have many limitations towards these goals and thus the research trend to adopt 3D printing for chitosan-based biopolymer fabrication. This chapter should enable the reader to identify and relate the utilization of chitosan biopolymer in additive manufacturing and its process parameters for different applications, especially for largescale structural chitosan 3D printing and cell/organ 3D bioprinting. © 2022 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.