Design concepts and strategies for tissue engineering scaffolds

Abstract

In the emerging field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, new viable and functional tissue is fabricated from living cells cultured on an artificial matrix in a simulated biological environment. It is evident that the specific requirements for the three main components, cells, scaffold materials, and the culture environment, are very different, depending on the type of cells and the organ‐specific application. Identifying the variables within each of these components is a complex and challenging assignment, but there do exist general requirements for designing and fabricating tissue engineering scaffolds. Therefore, this review explores one of the three main components, namely, the key concepts, important parameters, and required characteristics related to the development and evaluation of tissue engineering scaffolds. An array of different design strategies will be discussed, which include mimicking the extra cellular matrix, responding to the need for mass transport, predicting the structural architecture, ensuring adequate initial mechanical integrity, modifying the surface chemistry and topography to provide cell signaling, and anticipating the material selection so as to predict the required rate of bioresorption. In addition, this review considers the major challenge of achieving adequate vascularization in tissue engineering constructs, without which no three‐dimensional thick tissue such as the heart, liver, and kidney can remain viable.

Effects of Surface Morphology of ZnAl2O4 Ceramic Materials on Osteoblastic Cells Responses

“…Information originating from this interaction is essential to aid the design and fabrication of new biocompatible materials [25]. Our results showed that when we culture osteoblastic cells on ZnAl 2 O 4 nanostructured materials, the cell morphology had attached and undergone significant spreading, elongated demonstrating areas, where filopodia had intimately adapted with multiple cellular extensions on the surface of the ceramic ( Figure 5(b)).…”

Comparison of Cell Proliferation and Adhesion of Human Osteoblast Differentiated Cells on Electrospun and Freeze-Dried PLGA/Bioglass Scaffolds

“…Scaffolds used in bone TE should provide a suitable physical space to accommodate the cells within them and to induce formation of new tissues by exchanging biomolecules (39). Scaffolds should also have a 3D and porous structure with mechanical stability (40). One of the important points in the design of scaffolds is their similarity to extracellular matrix, with respect to morphology and structure (41).…”

Fibroblast Growth on Nanofiber Material Matrices and Changes to Their Mechanical Properties

“…Various polymers -natural and synthetic, their combinations and modified molecules have been tested for different tissue engineering tasks [9]- [11]. Many polymer scaffold types have been used previously for cardiac and cardiac valve tissue engineering [7], [8], [12].…”