Development in additive printing for tissue-engineered bone and tendon regeneration

Additive printing, commonly known as additive manufacturing, presents transformative potential over conventional scaffold manufacturing methods in the repair of musculoskeletal tissues. With its ability to create complex geometries and microarchitectures that mimic tissue complexity, additive printing can offer various innovative methods for successful patient-specific tissue engineering applications. Here, we review the development in additive printing of the musculoskeletal tissues, in particular, bone and tendon tissue engineering. Promising technologies including (1) light-assisted-based, (2) nozzle-based, and (3) printer-based system, and materials which are involved in additive printing of bone and tendon tissues, will be presented. Lastly, a discussion of the future direction in this field is also provided.