Three-dimensional (3D) printing, as one of the most popular recent additive manufacturing processes, has shown strong potential for the fabrication of biostructures in the field of tissue engineering, most notably for bones, orthopedic tissues, and associated organs. Desirable biological, structural, and mechanical properties can be achieved for 3D-printed constructs with a proper selection of biomaterials and compatible bioprinting methods, possibly even while combining additive and conventional manufacturing (AM and CM) procedures. However, challenges remain in the need for improved printing resolution (especially at the nanometer level), speed, and biomaterial compatibilities, and a broader range of suitable 3D-printed materials. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the development of 3D bioprinting techniques, particularly new hybrid 3D bioprinting technologies for combining the strengths of both AM and CM, along with a comprehensive set of material selection principles, promising medical applications, and limitations and future prospects.

Gold nanoparticles are materials with unique optical properties that have made them very attractive for numerous biomedical applications. With the increasing discovery of techniques to synthesize novel nanoparticles such as star-shaped gold nanoparticles for biomedical applications, the safety and performance of these new nanomaterials must be systematically assessed before use. In this study, gold nanostars (AuNSTs) with multibranched surface structures were synthesized, and their influence on the cytotoxicity of human skin fibroblasts and rat fat pad endothelial cells (RFPECs) were assessed and compared with that of gold nanospheres (AuNSPs) with unbranched surfaces. Results showed that the AuNSPs with diameters of approximately 61.46 nm showed greater toxicity with fibroblast cells and RFPECs compared with the synthesized AuNSTs with diameters of approximately 33.69 nm. The AuNSPs were lethal at concentrations of 40 μg/mL for both cell lines, whereas the AuNSTs were less toxic at higher concentrations (400 μg/mL). The calculated IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) values of the AuNSPs exposed to fibroblast cells were greater at 1 and 4 days of culture (26.4 and 27.7 μg/mL, respectively) compared with the RFPECs (13.6 and 13.8 μg/mL, respectively), indicating that the AuNSPs have a greater toxicity to endothelial cells. It was proposed that possible factors that could be promoting the reduced toxicity effects of the AuNSTs to fibroblast cells and RFPECs, compared with the AuNSPs may be size, surface chemistry, and shape of the gold nanoparticles. The reduced cell toxicity observed with the AuNSTs suggests that AuNSTs may be a promising material for use in biomedical applications.

The catalyzed luminol chemiluminescence (CL) in a strongly alkaline environment has been rarely induced by singlet oxygen (1O2). This paper reports that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide passivated carbon nanodots (CTAB-CDs), prepared by the hydrothermal treatment of fullerene in the presence of CTAB, can be used as excellent catalysts to dramatically enhance the CL intensity of the luminol–H2O2 system in NaOH medium owing to their unique surface property. More importantly, this CL enhancement takes place mainly through the intermediate of 1O2, which follows a different mechanism from traditional reports. The CL spectra, UV–vis spectra, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images before and after the CL reaction, and the effects of various free radical scavengers on the CL intensity were conducted to identify the possible 1O2-participating CL enhancement mechanism. It was demonstrated that the CL enhancement by CTAB-CDs originated from the processes of the catalysis of CDs on the electron-transfer and the breakdown of H2O2. Both processes produced a great amount of 1O2 on the surface of CTAB-CDs, and then the reaction of 1O2 with luminol resulted in an unstable endoperoxide, which could rapidly decompose into the excited state 3-aminophthalate anions (3-APA*), leading to the enhanced CL at 440 nm. The important features of this CDs-catalyzed CL will not only enrich traditional luminol CL mechanism in strongly alkaline conditions but also open up a new route to study this novel carbon nanomaterial, which may broaden the applications in a large variety of fields.

Understanding the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism is vital to improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency for solar energy materials and photosensitization systems. Herein, we visually demonstrate the PET process by real-time monitoring the photoinduced chemical transformation of p-aminothiophenol (p-ATP), an important SERS signal molecule, to 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene on single silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy coupled dark-field microscopy. The bidirectional LSPR scattering spectral shifts bathochromically at first and hypsochromically then, which are caused by the electron transfer delay of p-ATP, disclose the PET path from p-ATP to O through AgNPs during the reaction, and enable us to digitalize the corresponding electron loss and gain on the surface of AgNP at different time periods. This visualized PET process could provide a simple and efficient approach to explore the nature of PET and help to interpret the SERS mechanism in terms of p-ATP.

Metallic nanoparticles (such as gold and silver) have been intensely studied for wound healing applications due to their ability to be easily functionalized, possess antibacterial properties, and their strong potential for targeted drug release. In this study, rod-shaped silver nanorods (AgNRs) and gold nanorods (AuNRs) were fabricated by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD), and their cytotoxicity toward human skin fibroblasts were assessed and compared to sphere-shaped silver nanospheres (AgNSs) and gold nanospheres (AuNSs). Results showed that the 39.94 nm AgNSs showed the greatest toxicity with fibroblast cells followed by the 61.06 nm AuNSs, ∼556 nm × 47 nm (11.8:1 aspect ratio) AgNRs, and the ∼534 nm × 65 nm (8.2:1 aspect ratio) AuNRs demonstrated the least amount of toxicity. The calculated IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) value for the AgNRs exposed to fibroblasts was greater after 4 days of exposure (387.3 μg mL(-1)) compared to the AgNSs and AuNSs (4.3 and 23.4 μg mL(-1), respectively), indicating that these spherical metallic nanoparticles displayed a greater toxicity to fibroblast cells. The IC50 value could not be measured for the AuNRs due to an incomplete dose response curve. The reduced cell toxicity with the presently developed rod-shaped nanoparticles suggests that they may be promising materials for use in numerous biomedical applications.