Biocompatible Synthetic Polymers for Tissue Engineering Purposes

Abstract

Synthetic polymers have been an integral part of modern society since the early 1960s. Besides their most well-known applications to the public, such as packaging, construction, textiles and electronics, synthetic polymers have also revolutionized the field of medicine. Starting with the first plastic syringe developed in 1955 to the complex polymeric materials used in the regeneration of tissues, their contributions have never been more prominent. Decades of research on polymeric materials, stem cells, and three-dimensional printing contributed to the rapid progress of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine that envisages the potential future of organ transplantations. This perspective discusses the role of synthetic polymers in tissue engineering, their design and properties in relation to each type of application. Additionally, selected recent achievements of tissue engineering using synthetic polymers are outlined to provide insight into how they will contribute to the advancement of the field in the near future. In this way, we aim to provide a guide that will help scientists with synthetic polymer design and selection for different tissue engineering applications.

Bulk Erosion Degradation Mechanism for Poly(1,8-octanediol-co-citrate) Elastomer: An In Vivo and In Vitro Investigation

“…A satisfactory biomaterial, after the full application in vivo, can often be degraded and absorbed by physical disintegration, biological mechanisms, and chemical reaction. Many of these biomaterials have been widely applied in practice, such as poly­(lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA) (used for human body absorbable suture), poly­(lactic acid) (PLA) (used for absorbable screw), poly­(glycolic acid) (PGA) (used for bioabsorbable stents), and poly­(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) (used for drug carrier or coating materials). − There are still some biomaterials to be further developed, such as poly­(1,8-octanediol- co -citrate) (POC) as a thermosetting polyester.…”

Recent Advances in the Application of Natural and Synthetic Polymer-Based Scaffolds in Musculoskeletal Regeneration

“…However, their mechanical properties and polymer customization capabilities are limited [ 107 ]. Synthetic polymers, on the other hand, do not have the biological cues of ECM, and the by-products of their breakdown can cause acid buildup and inflammation [ 108 ]. Since both natural and synthetic polymers have flaws, processing techniques are often used to combine several biomaterials in a certain ratio to make composite materials that meet the needs of scaffold materials for bone tissue engineering scaffold materials [ 109 , 110 ].…”

The emerging role of cancer nanotechnology in the panorama of sarcoma

“…In this context, improved histocompatibility, mechanical properties, and morphology, including appropriate porosity for cell culture, are some of the features on which 3D culture models are focused. The efforts in scaffold design derived from the need to properly mimic not only the tumor microenvironment (TME) in terms of matrix composition and tridimensionality, but also to imitate the interactions between sarcoma cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), the biomechanical features of growing tumors, and to reproduce the molecular interplay between sarcoma cells and stromal surrounding cells ( Troy et al, 2021 ; Joyce et al, 2021 ; Fan et al, 2022 ; Terzopoulou et al, 2022 ; Filippi et al, 2020 ; Nikolova and Chavali, 2019 ; Jenkins and Little, 2019 ; Weißenbruch et al, 2021 ).…”