Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine

Cell-Scaffold

Thousands of surgical procedures are performed every day to replace or repair tissue that has been damaged by illness or trauma. The Tissue Engineering technology area aims to regenerate damaged tissues by combining body cells with highly porous scaffold biomaterials, which serve as models for tissue regeneration, to direct the growth of new tissue. Numerous scaffolds made from a variety of biomaterials and manufactured using a plethora of manufacturing techniques were used in the field in attempts to regenerate various tissues and organs inside the body. Regardless of the form of tissue, a range of main considerations are relevant when designing or assessing a scaffold 's suitability for use in tissue engineering Biocompatibility , Biodegradability, Mechanical properties, Scaffold architecture, Manufacturing technology. The final criterion for tissue engineering scaffolds, and the one on which all the criteria listed above depend, is the choice of biomaterial from which to make the scaffold. Scaffolds are important ingredients in tissue engineering. However, when choosing scaffolds for tissue engineering researchers often experience a large range of choices. Scaffolds in engineered tissues shall, at least partially, mimic the ECM in native tissues. No wonder their functions would imitate the target tissue's ECM. Four major scaffolding approaches have been developed over the last few decades, namely the implantation of cell-seeded pre-made porous scaffolds, the implantation of cell-seeded decellularized allograft or xenograft ECM, the implantation of laminated cell sheets with secreted ECM and the injection of cell-encapsulated self-assembled hydrogels. 

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