In 2013, the "biofabrication window" was introduced to reflect the processing challenge for the fields of biofabrication and bioprinting. At that time, the lack of printable materials that could serve as cell-laden bioinks, as well as the limitations of printing and assembly methods, presented a major constraint. However, recent developments have now resulted in the availability of a plethora of bioinks, new printing approaches, and the technological advancement of established techniques. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown which materials and technical parameters are essential for the fabrication of intrinsically hierarchical cell-material constructs that truly mimic biologically functional tissue. In order to achieve this, it is urged that the field now shift its focus from materials and technologies toward the biological development of the resulting constructs. Therefore, herein, the recent material and technological advances since the introduction of the biofabrication window are briefly summarized, i.e., approaches how to generate shape, to then focus the discussion on how to acquire the biological function within this context. In particular, a vision of how biological function can evolve from the possibility to determine shape is outlined.

中文翻译：

---

从形状到功能：生物打印的下一步。

2013年，引入了“生物制造窗口”，以反映生物制造和生物打印领域的加工挑战。当时，缺乏可用作充满细胞的生物墨水的可打印材料，以及打印和组装方法的局限性，成为了主要的限制。然而，最近的发展已经导致出现了大量的生物墨水、新的印刷方法以及现有技术的技术进步。然而，目前仍不清楚哪些材料和技术参数对于制造真正模仿生物功能组织的本质分层细胞材料结构至关重要。为了实现这一目标，人们敦促该领域现在将重点从材料和技术转向所得结构的生物开发。因此，本文简要总结了自生物制造窗口引入以来最近的材料和技术进展，即如何生成形状的方法，然后重点讨论如何在此背景下获得生物功能。特别是，概述了生物功能如何从确定形状的可能性演变而来的愿景。