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Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and, to date, the clinically available prostheses still present several limitations. The design of next-generation regenerative replacements either based on cellular or extracellular matrix technologies can address these shortcomings. Therefore, tissue engineered constructs could potentially become a promising alterative to the current therapeutic options for patients with cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we selectively present an overview of the current tissue engineering tools such as induced pluripotent stem cells, biomimetic materials, computational modeling, and additive manufacturing technologies, with a focus on their application to translational cardiovascular therapies. We discuss how these advanced technologies can help the development of biomimetic tissue engineered constructs and we finally summarize the latest clinical evidence for their use, and their potential therapeutic outcome.

The development of next‐generation biomimetic cardiovascular implants using tissue engineering concepts can address the existing shortcomings of the clinically available prostheses, offering the possibility to generate life‐long, native‐analogous constructs with self‐remodeling and regenerative capacities. Scaffolds for tissue‐engineered cardiovascular prostheses can be obtained from allogenic cell sources, that can then produce human tissue‐engineered matrices (hTEMs) in vitro. Traditionally, fetal bovine serum (FBS) is used as a universal cell growth supplement. However, concerns regarding its biosafety remain a challenge for clinical translation. The aim of this study is to develop a novel xenogeneic serum‐free approach for the manufacturing of clinical grade hTEMs. To achieve this, decellularized hTEMs are generated under xenogeneic serum‐free conditions and have subsequently demonstrated hTEMs perform similarly to the FBS‐supplemented control group in terms of extracellular matrix (ECM) composition, hemocompatibility, thrombogenicity, and calcification potential. Finally, the xenogeneic serum‐free protocol is successfully adapted to the development of hTEM‐based tissue‐engineered heart valves for the systemic circulation, showing proof‐of‐concept functionality in vitro. Overall, the data suggest the effectiveness of xenogeneic serum‐free culture method as a valid alternative to FBS for the production of hTEM for cardiovascular applications.

The application of 3D printing technologies fields for biological tissues, organs, and cells in the context of medical and biotechnology applications requires a significant amount of innovation in a narrow printability range. 3D bioprinting is one such way of addressing critical design challenges in tissue engineering. In a more general sense, 3D printing has become essential in customized implant designing, faithful reproduction of microenvironmental niches, sustainable development of implants, in the capacity to address issues of effective cellular integration, and long-term stability of the cellular constructs in tissue engineering. This review covers various aspects of 3D bioprinting, describes the current state-of-the-art solutions for all aforementioned critical issues, and includes various illustrative representations of technologies supporting the development of phases of 3D bioprinting. It also demonstrates several bio-inks and their properties crucial for being used for 3D printing applications. The review focus on bringing together different examples and current trends in tissue engineering applications, including bone, cartilage, muscles, neuron, skin, esophagus, trachea, tympanic membrane, cornea, blood vessel, immune system, and tumor models utilizing 3D printing technology and to provide an outlook of the future potentials and barriers.