Bioprinting towards Physiologically Relevant Tissue Models for Pharmaceutics

Improving the ability to predict the efficacy and toxicity of drug candidates earlier in the drug discovery process will speed up the introduction of new drugs into clinics. 3D in vitro systems have significantly advanced the drug screening process as 3D tissue models can closely mimic native tissues and, in some cases, the physiological response to drugs. Among various in vitro systems, bioprinting is a highly promising technology possessing several advantages such as tailored microarchitecture, high-throughput capability, coculture ability, and low risk of cross-contamination. In this opinion article, we discuss the currently available tissue models in pharmaceutics along with their limitations and highlight the possibilities of bioprinting physiologically relevant tissue models, which hold great potential in drug testing, high-throughput screening, and disease modeling.

TrendsImproving the ability to predict the efficacy and toxicity of drug candidates earlier in the drug discovery process will speed up the translation of new drugs into clinics.Bioprinting for functional tissue fabrication has been a recent interest in pharmaceutics, as bioprinting has advantageous aspects, such as controllable tissue size and microarchitecture, high-throughput capability, coculture ability, and low risk of cross-contamination.There is currently a growing trend in bioprinting of heterocellular tissue models such as liver, kidney, heart, and tumor models for drug testing and high-throughput screening.Combining bioprinting technology with other technologies such as microfluidics is needed for fabricating physiologically simulated, complex, and long-term viable target micro-organ array.