Of course, nowadays organogenesis of full developed arms and legs is still a fantasy, but knowing that limbs are a extremely complex system, the cost of making one would be astronomical. So, do we actually need 3D bioprinting for the creation of limbs when other methods are way more developed and probably cheaper?
Hi Edgardo,
This is a very interesting question! I agree, that limbs are incredibly complex, therefore 3D printing the entire structure is not feasible right now. However bioprinting may still be useful for printing certain parts of the limb, such as articular cartilage caps. Bioprinting may also be useful for 3D organoid culture. Mesenchymal progenitors can be encapsulated in a bioink like GelMA and printed into 3D structures and differentiated into limb forming units. Here's a good paper that outlines sone techniques! Article Mesenchymal stem cell 3D encapsulation technologies for biom...
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