Tailoring Bioengineered Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

The vision to unravel and develop biological healing mechanisms based on evolving molecular and cellular technologies has led to a worldwide scientific endeavor to establish regenerative medicine. This is a multidisciplinary field that involves basic and preclinical research and development on the repair, replacement, and regrowth or regeneration of cells, tissues, or organs in both diseases (congenital or acquired) and traumas. A total of over 63,000 patients were officially placed on organs' waiting lists on 31 December 2013 in the European Union (European Commission, 2014). Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have emerged as promising fields to achieve proper solutions for these concerns. However, we are far from having patient-specific tissue engineering scaffolds that mimic the native tissue regarding both structure and function. The proposed chapter is a qualitative review over the biomaterials, processes, and scaffold designs for tailored bioprinting. Relevant literature on bioengineered scaffolds for regenerative medicine will be updated. It is well known that mechanical properties play significant effects on biologic behavior which highlight the importance of an extensively discussion on tailoring biomechanical properties for bioengineered scaffolds. The following topics will be discussed: scaffold design, biomaterials and scaffolds bioactivity, biofabrication processes, scaffolds biodegradability, and cell viability. Moreover, new insights will be pointed out.

Exploration of Bioengineered Scaffolds Composed of Thermo-Responsive Polymers for Drug Delivery in Wound Healing

“…In addition, scaffold design needs to consider several features such as cell–tissue interaction; vascularization; scaffold degradation; and loading with drugs, growth factors, cells, and antibacterial material. Therefore, preformulation and rational designs of scaffolds for drug delivery systems or biomedical devices are crucial for developing a functional, biocompatible, and non-immunogenic product of quality that accelerates local tissue healing [ 97 , 98 ].…”

“…Scaffolds’ behavior and mechanism are highly influenced by the physicochemical properties of the thermo-responsive polymers used for their development but also due to the regulation systems of the biological host. These natural feedback (e.g., inflammation, hyperthermia) aims to stabilize any condition that contrasts with the physiological balance [ 97 ]. As a result, scaffolds and their constituent biomaterials make use of these biological responses to provide novel tools for drug delivery.…”

3D Printing: Advancement in Biogenerative Engineering to Combat Shortage of Organs and Bioapplicable Materials

“…Scaffolds are mainly made from biomaterials such as polymers, biocomposites, and bioceramics [22,23] which provide the framework for cell attachment and tissue development, cell proliferation, host integration, and vascularization [21]. The successful strategy for designing the scaffolds which includes all features such as biological, mechanical, and architectural [24,25] is described in Fig. 1.…”

Bioengineered Scaffolds for Thermo-responsive Drug Delivery in Wound Healing

“…In addition, scaffold design needs to consider several features such as cell-tissue interaction, vascularization, scaffold degradation, and loading with drugs, growth factors, cells, and antibacterial material. Therefore, preformulation and rational designs of scaffolds for drug delivery systems or biomedical devices are crucial for developing a functional, biocompatible, and non-immunogenic product of quality that accelerates local tissue healing [89,90].…”

“…Scaffolds' behavior and mechanism are highly influenced by the physicochemical properties of the thermo-responsive polymers used for their development but also due to the regulation systems of the biological host. These natural feedbacks (e.g., inflammation, hyperthermia) aims to stabilize any condition that contrasts with the physiological balance [89]. As a result, scaffolds and their constituent biomaterials make use of these biological responses to provide novel tools for drug delivery systems that can be applied to the wound healing process [128].…”