Production of the Scaffold Using 3D Bioprinting Applied to the Biomedical Area: A Bibliometric Study

Abstract

Tissue Engineering is an ascent area with clinical applications through combining cells and biomaterials to reconstitute organs and tissues using scaffolds. These are defined as porous, temporary, biodegradable threedimensional supports used to mimic the structure of the extracellular matrix and stimulate specific cellular responses at the molecular level. Among the existing technologies for producing scaffolds, 3D bioprinting stands out as one of the most promising technologies that enable layer-by-layer deposition with precise control of the spatial arrangement of functional components. One of the most used biomaterials for the fabrication of scaffolds for application in Tissue Engineering is poly(lactic acid), PLA, a biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic polyester, whose main application is in the regeneration and replacement of bone tissue. In this way, the present article aims to obtain a comprehensive view of the current scenario of PLA scaffolds obtained by 3D bioprinting for biomedical applications through bibliometric analysis. The research was conducted in the Web of Science database between August 16 and 17, 2022. The following set of keywords was used: "scaffolds" AND "PLA" AND "3D printing" AND "biomedical applications" OR "biomedical application," resulting in 2,351 publications in the last five years. The VOSviewer software was used as a bibliometric analysis tool to visualize country networks
and keywords on the topic studied. Based on the results, it was possible to observe that China, India, and the USA are the countries that published the most on the subject, and Chinese institutions and authors are also responsible for a considerable part of the publication of documents. There was also an increase in publications in the last five years, reinforcing the research interest that strengthens Tissue Engineering.