(1. School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing,100083) (2. Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190)
After revolution for billions of years, nature occurring biomaterials have developed delicate microstructures and amazing properties that far exceed engineering materials. The design principles of biomaterials could be used as the guidance to promote the advance of materials science and engineering. Although nature has provided the blueprint for advanced functional materials, it is still of importance to find effective tools and technology to implement. Three-dimensional (3D) printing has high accuracy and rapid speed in manufacturing. The process of 3D printing is similar to the synthesizing process of biomaterials in nature. It could be used for complicated structures and integrated devices. This article reviews the bioinspired materials prepared by 3D printing, shows the challenges that this research field is facing, and discusses the future of the combining areas of 3D printing technology and bioinspired materials.