Strategy for a Biomimetic Paradigm in Dental and Craniofacial Tissue Engineering - Biomimetics: Advancing Nanobiomaterials and Tissue Engineering - page 117

on various steps of abstractions and modifi cations, i.e., an independent successive
construction that is a “new invention” rather than a blueprint of nature. It has been
argued that we now need a new generation of 3D culture systems that would offer
a middle ground between the bare bones approach of a standard petri dish and
a live organism model, such as a rat, or mouse. The new strategy of tissue engi-
neering and regenerative medicine at large, is to construct biomimetic matrices to
mimic nature's hierarchical structural assemblages and mechanisms of simplicity
and elegance that are conserved throughout genera and species.
The current generation of tissue engineering is a true integration of biology and
engineering that makes it possible to design “biomimetic” environments that sub-
ject the cell to the combinations of factors known to guide tissue development and
regeneration in vivo . The implications of this collaborative approach are likely to
extend beyond the current goal of answering complex biological questions using
new bioengineering tools, to the derivation of entirely new concepts that will
shape future advances in regenerative medicine.
In this perspective chapter, we will focus on the development and use of biomi-
metic platforms that provide the interface between biological questions and engi-
neering tools in the fi eld of dental and craniofacial tissue engineering.
6.1 Introduction
Tissue engineering is an emerging multidisciplinary dynamic fi eld in
which the collective knowledge of medicine, biology, engineering, micro
and nanotechnologies and understanding of the interactions of materials
with the physiological environment are brought together and applied syn-
ergistically toward the design of new materials, devices, and techniques in
regenerative medicine (Figure 6.1).
During the last couple of decades, great efforts have been directed
toward creating systems that could resemble the native environment of
tissues. In fact, important areas of tissue engineering have already taken
advantage of such structures to understand the phenomena occurring at
the interface of biomaterial-biological entities, applying the concepts into
a tissue engineering strategy [1]. Hence, tissue engineering has evolved
from being a tissue replacement strategy to one that aims to recapitulate
developmental pathways to boost the body's own intrinsic healing capac-
ity. As a result, a new generation of tissue engineering and regenerative
medicine that integrates biology and engineering has emerged making it
possible to design biomimetic environments that will guide tissue devel-
opment and regeneration in vivo . An example of a biomimetic concept
for bone regeneration is one where the trophic and immunomodulatory
effects of mesenchymal stem cells MSCs, scaffolds resembling the natural
extracellular matrix, and approaches to deliver multiple growth factors
are combined in a delicate synchronized fashion which has changed our
perception of the fi eld today [2].