Tissue Engineering: Understanding the Role of Biomaterials and Biophysical Forces on Cell Functionality Through Computational and Structural Biotechnology Analytical Methods

Abstract

Within the past 25 years, tissue engineering (TE) has grown enormously as a science and as an industry. Although classically concerned with the recapitulation of tissue and organ formation in our body for regenerative medicine, the evolution of TE research is intertwined with progress in other fields through the examination of cell function and behaviour in isolated biomimetic microenvironments. As such, TE applications now extend beyond the field of tissue regeneration research, operating as a platform for modifiable, physiologically-representative in vitro models with the potential to improve the translation of novel therapeutics into the clinic through a more informed understanding of the relevant molecular biology, structural biology, anatomy, and physiology. By virtue of their biomimicry, TE constructs incorporate features of extracellular macrostructure, molecular adhesive moieties, and biomechanical properties, converging with computational and structural biotechnology advances. Accordingly, this mini-review serves to contextualise TE for the computational and structural biotechnology reader and provides an outlook on how the disciplines overlap with respect to relevant advanced analytical applications.

Proteins and Peptides as Important Modifiers of the Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications—A Review

“…The adhesive glycoproteins, i.e., fibronectin, laminins, and vitronectin, play a key role in supporting cell migration and adhesion to ECM. Among these proteins, fibronectin and laminins are mainly used for modification of both natural and synthetic biomaterials in order to improve their biocompatibility [3,6,7,9,12,15,18,19,[72][73][74]].…”

The Fabrication and in vitro Evaluation of Retinoic Acid-Loaded Electrospun Composite Biomaterials for Tracheal Tissue Regeneration

“…Of course, the presence of co-cultured mesenchymal cells such as fibroblasts or stromal cells can alter expression of these biomarkers (Le Visage et al, 2004;Kobayashi et al, 2007;O'Leary et al, 2016O'Leary et al, , 2017; while beyond the scope of this study, future work with primary epithelial and mesenchymal cells in coculture would be the next step to evaluate scaffold-mediated regeneration of not only epithelium, but also submucosal tissue for structural integrity and vascularization (Chiang et al, 2016). Additionally, studies into the mechanical properties of the scaffold and potential adjustment of design features to improve epithelial differentiation are a point of interest, given the extensive research in the field of mechanobiology and cell-material mechanotransduction interactions [reviewed in (Almouemen et al, 2019)]. Both programs of future research could provide valuable information on the biomaterial's potential progression toward the clinic as an implant for tracheal trauma.…”

Biodegradable conducting polymeric materials for biomedical applications: a review

“…Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of life sciences and engineering for the development of biological alternatives to reinstate, sustain or improve the tissue function. Biodegradable scaffolds play a critical role in tissue engineering applications (Almouemen et al, 2019). To avoid the removal surgery of implant and to avoid a permanent and chronic immune response, biodegradability is needed.…”