3D bioprinting in the era of 4th industrial revolution – insights, advanced applications, and future prospects

Purpose The main objective of this paper is to illustrate an analytical view of different methods of 3D bioprinting, variations, formulations and characteristics of biomaterials. This review also aims to discover all the areas of applications and scopes of further improvement of 3D bioprinters in this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviewed a number of papers that carried evaluations of different 3D bioprinting methods with different biomaterials, using different pumps to print 3D scaffolds, living cells, tissue and organs. All the papers and articles are collected from different journals and conference papers from 2014 to 2022. Findings This paper briefly explains how the concept of a 3D bioprinter was developed from a 3D printer and how it affects the biomedical field and helps to recover the lack of organ donors. It also gives a clear explanation of three basic processes and different strategies of these processes and the criteria of biomaterial selection. This paper gives insights into how 3D bioprinters can be assisted with machine learning to increase their scope of application. Research limitations/implications The chosen research approach may limit the generalizability of the research findings. As a result, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed hypotheses further. Practical implications This paper includes implications for developing 3D bioprinters, developing biomaterials and increasing the printability of 3D bioprinters. Originality/value This paper addresses an identified need by investigating how to enable 3D bioprinting performance.