Biomaterials and Additive Manufacturing: A Comprehensive Report

This report provides a comprehensive review of additive manufacturing (AM) in the context of biomaterials. It begins by defining AM and its evolution, highlighting its significance in healthcare, particularly for patient-specific solutions. The report explores various AM techniques like stereolithography, selective laser melting, and fused deposition modeling, emphasizing the use of biomaterials in areas such as orthotics, prosthetics, medical instruments, implants, drug delivery systems, and tissue engineering. The literature review discusses the advantages of AM in creating complex and customized biomaterial constructs with controlled microarchitectures, influencing their mechanical, physical, and biological properties. The report elaborates on the applications of AM in orthotics, prosthetics, patient-specific medical instruments, and implants, including the use of lattice structures for improved osseointegration and drug delivery. It also covers the application of AM in drug delivery systems, highlighting the ability to tailor drug release profiles. Furthermore, the report discusses the role of AM in biofabrication for creating tissue and organ equivalents, including its potential in disease models and regenerative medicine. The report concludes with future perspectives, emphasizing the need for further research to enhance the potential of AM, address material limitations, and develop advanced computational platforms and design principles. Overall, the report highlights the transformative impact of AM on biomaterials and its promising future in biomedical applications.