AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026230240
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Early Access

Smart hydrogel bioinks integrated with two-dimensional nanomaterials for cardiovascular bioprinting and atherosclerosis modeling

Jiangzhou Chu1 Zhi Liu2 Zhongshan He3 Shengbin Liu2*
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1 College of Medicine and Health, Urban Vocational College of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
2 Department of Critical Care Medicine, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
3 Departments of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics & Biomedical Engineering, Cardiovascular Research Center, Virginia University, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
Received: 6 June 2026 | Revised: 4 July 2026 | Accepted: 14 July 2026 | Published online: 15 July 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Bioprinting for Engineered Tissues and Organs)
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide, and atherosclerosis underlies most ischemic cardiovascular events. However, conventional in vitro and in vivo models fail to fully reproduce the complex cellular interactions, extracellular matrix remodeling, oxidative stress, and hemodynamic microenvironment of human vascular lesions. This review summarizes recent advances in stimuli-responsive hydrogel bioinks for three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting of atherosclerosis models. We discuss how disease-responsive biomaterials can dynamically regulate the cellular microenvironment and improve the physiological relevance of engineered vascular tissues. Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials. Graphene-based materials provide electrical conductivity, mechanical reinforcement, and sensing capabilities; black phosphorus (BP) offers biodegradability, photothermal responsiveness, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-sensitive behavior; while emerging Xene materials such as germanene present additional opportunities for multifunctional bioink design. Their respective advantages and limitations for cardiovascular bioprinting are comparatively evaluated. Finally, we discuss key translational challenges, including material standardization, long-term biosafety, biological validation, manufacturing scalability, and regulatory approval. We propose that multifunctional, disease-responsive bioinks combined with advanced biofabrication technologies will accelerate the development of physiologically relevant cardiovascular disease models and precision medicine platforms.

Keywords
Cardiovascular bioprinting
Atherosclerosis modeling
Stimuli-responsive hydrogel bioinks
2D nanomaterials
Organ-on-a-chip
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing