Home-Singapore researchers outline advances shaping biofabrication and biomanufacturing
Researchers in Singapore have published a review mapping the country’s recent contributions to biofabrication and biomanufacturing, from waste-derived biomaterials and 3D bioprinting to cultivated food, regenerative medicine, microneedles, and bioelectronics.
Published inBio-Design and Manufacturing, the review examines work led by Singapore-based research groups across three areas: bio-derived materials, enabling manufacturing technologies, and emerging applications. The authors argue that biofabrication and biomanufacturing are increasingly overlapping as biological systems, advanced materials, digital tools, and automated fabrication platforms are combined to produce functional biological products.
The paper was authored by researchers from institutions includingNanyang Technological University(NTU), theNational University of Singapore(NUS),A*STAR, theSingapore Eye Research Institute,Duke-NUS Medical School,and theSingapore National Eye Centre.
Biofabrication is defined as the automated, spatially controlled assembly of biological or biofunctional constructs using additive manufacturing, patterning technologies, and engineered cellular microenvironments. Biomanufacturing, by contrast, has traditionally referred to scalable production using cells, enzymes, microbial systems, biomaterials, therapeutic molecules, food components, and engineered tissues.
According to the authors, the distinction between the two fields is becoming less clear as researchers develop integrated production platforms for healthcare, food, and industrial biotechnology.
Sustainable biomaterials from waste streams
A major focus of the review is the use of biomass-derived feedstocks as sustainable biomaterials. Singapore-based researchers have explored sources such as human hair keratin, aquaculture byproducts, plant-derived polysaccharides, and pollen to produce hydrogels, scaffolds, fibers, and microgels.
Human hair keratin is highlighted as a promising waste-derived material because it is widely available and supports both cell attachment and chemical modification. The review covers keratin-based materials ranging from hydrogels and keratin-alginate composites to porous scaffolds and fiber formats. These systems have been investigated for tissue engineering and, in some cases, potential suture applications.
Keratin’s high cysteine content allows it to be crosslinked in different ways, making it adaptable for tissue engineering. However, extraction cost remains a barrier to wider use, and the authors note that greener, lower-cost methods will be needed for commercial-scale production.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
