LIFT-bioprinting, is it worth it?

To date, laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is one of the most developing areas in bioprinting. It is based on a precise nozzle-free laser-assisted hydrogel microdroplet transfer. Although this technique was first mentioned in the 1980s, it started to gain popularity in biomedicine only a decade ago. While the interest in LIFT bioprinting is constantly growing, it is essential to provide a framework of its possibilities and limitations. This review aims to facilitate the search for a common language between physicists and biologists and thus become a short guide to using LIFT technology for biomedicine. Here, we compared various points such as lasers, bioinks components, collector substrate, post-treatment, and printing processes that are crucial for LIFT bioprinting and applied in published studies on it. The core of this review is the discussion of biological and physical aspects to fabricate tissues and organs and the not-known difficulties that can be encountered during the laser printing process and were not given sufficient attention earlier.