Call for Papers - 3D bioprinting methodologies and protocols

Guest Editors

Carmine Gentile, BSc, MSc, PharmD/PhD, FAHA, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Tiziano Serra, PhD, AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 8 August 2025

This Collection seeks to gather innovative research at the intersection of 3D bioprinting, exploring the potential of this transformative technology to fabricate complex biological tissues and advance fields such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We invite submissions that showcase the latest advancements in bioprinting methodologies, including bioink development and scaffold-free techniques, with a focus on enhancing tissue function and creating transplantable organs.

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Meet the Guest Editors

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Carmine Gentile, BSc, MSc, PharmD/PhD, FAHA, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Dr Carmine Gentile, PharmD/PhD, FAHA, leads the Cardiovascular Regeneration Group working on 3D bioprinting and stem cell technologies both at the Heart Research Institute and University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He is a Senior Lecturer (Faculty) within the School of Biomedical Engineering at UTS.

He received his BSc/MSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technologies and PharmD at the University of Pisa, Italy. He then obtained his PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Cardiovascular) at the Medical University of South Carolina, USA, funded by a prestigious American Heart Association Fellowship. Since 2013 Dr Gentile has worked in Australia at the Heart Research Institute, the University of Sydney, and now at UTS, supported by several awards and grants, working within a multidisciplinary team with scientists, industry partners, and clinicians to quickly translate his findings from bench to bedside.

Dr Gentile is an internationally recognized expert in the field of 3D bioprinting and stem cell technologies and his more recent studies focus on novel molecular and cellular approaches to treat cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and heart failure. These studies are based on the use of “mini-hearts” he developed as “bioink” for human heart tissues. In 2016, he was invited as Visiting Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School, where he worked towards novel in-vitro models using mini-hearts to study human heart physiology.

Tiziano Serra, PhD, AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland

Dr Tiziano Serra is Focus Area Leader of Sound Guided Tissue Regeneration at the AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland.

Currently, his team focuses on exploring innovative biofabrication approaches and stimuli-responsive materials for the repair, regeneration, and modeling advanced multicellular systems. The team is pioneering novel bioassembly processes that leverage extrinsic fields, such as light, hydrodynamic waves, and magnetic forces, to organize cells into densely packed, hierarchically structured living systems. Dr Serra is an Assistant Professor at the Complex Tissue Regeneration Department, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (Maastricht University, NL) and Adjunct Professor at the University of Eastern Piedmont "Amedeo Avogadro," UPO (Novara, Italy).

Dr Serra received a MSc in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Salento (Italy), a PhD (cum laude) on 3D printing for tissue engineering from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (Spain, 2014) and was a postdoctoral fellow at University College London (UCL, UK, 2016).

For his expertise in biomaterials and biofabrication, he was the recipient of the ISBF Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Biofabrication, BRIDGE Fellowship from SNSF-Innosuisse, "Premi Extraordinari de Doctorat" from the Technical University of Catalonia, and Julia Polak European Doctoral Award from European Society of Biomaterials.
Dr Serra is the inventor of a sound-based bioassembly technology, licensed in 2020 to mimiX Biotherapeutics, a successful Swiss start-up that he co-founded and served as Chief Scientific Officer till July 2022. His technology has been selected as part of the “Technology Outlook 2023” by the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, SATW.

About the Collection

3D bioprinting is an emerging technology at the intersection of biology, engineering, and materials science, offering unprecedented opportunities to fabricate complex biological tissues. By using bioinks, bioprinting allows for the precise and customizable creation of structures that closely mimic the architecture and function of natural tissues and organs. This revolutionary technology is transforming fields such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and personalized healthcare.

The field has seen rapid progress, evolving from simple tissue models to sophisticated constructs with multiple cell types and vascular networks. Continuous advancements in bioprinting techniques, bioink development, and tissue maturation processes are bringing researchers closer to the ultimate goal of producing fully functional, transplantable organs.

Excitingly, bioprinting is also being explored in space, where the microgravity environment offers unique opportunities for creating more complex tissue structures. This research holds great promise not only for space exploration but also for advancing medical technologies here on Earth.

These and other advancements in 3D bioprinting will be highlighted at the upcoming Sixth Australian Bioprinting Workshop (AusBioprint™) in Sydney.

This Collection aims to provide a platform for the latest research in bioprinting methodologies, from foundational techniques to innovative applications, offering a comprehensive guide to both current practices and future directions in this rapidly evolving field. We invite contributions that explore the following topics:

Bioprinting techniques: Extrusion-based, inkjet, and laser-assisted bioprinting methods
Bioink formulations: Development and optimization of bioinks for cell viability, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties
Tissue and organ modeling: Strategies for printing complex tissues and organ structures, including vascularization and multi-material printing
Scaffold-free bioprinting: Techniques to eliminate the need for synthetic scaffolds in tissue engineering
Contactless bioprinting: Bioassembly strategies for tissue modeling and regeneration
Quality control and standardization: Protocols for ensuring precision, reproducibility, and standardization in bioprinted constructs
Applications in regenerative medicine: Case studies in skin, cartilage, bone, and organ regeneration
Bioreactors and post-printing maturation: Methods for improving tissue function and longevity post-bioprinting
Bioprinting in space: Exploring the challenges and opportunities of bioprinting in microgravity environments

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Methodology and Protocol articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "3D bioprinting methodologies and protocols" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.