Decellularized matrix as a building block in bioprinting and electrospinning

Electrospinning and 3D bioprinting are primary methods in the fabrication of scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Over the past years, the research community has moved from synthetic polymers to natural polymers, most recently increasingly toward decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM). In both techniques, the use of dECM was able to support correct phenotypic differentiation of progenitor cells and maintenance of tissue-specific cell phenotypes, thus furthermore improving cell adhesion and proliferation. Owing to the promising results, current and future research activities aim to incorporate dECM in more advanced techniques (such as melt electrowriting). The means to further improve the outcome include the creation of a design-driven mechanical environment, the introduction of new methods of chemical modification, the re-establishment of spatial arrangement, and the use of multiple cell types according to a predefined architecture.