Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
14
Biomimetic Materials for Engineering
Stem Cells and Tissues
Kaarunya Sampathkumar
1
, Azadeh Seidi
2
, Alok Srivastava
1
,
T.S. Sampath Kumar
3
, Seeram Ramakrishna
4,5
and Murugan Ramalingam
1,6,7,
*
1
Centre for Stem Cell Research (CSCR), (A unit of Institute for Stem
Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru) Christian Medical
College Campus, Vellore, India
2
Technology Center, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST),
Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan
3
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai, India
4
Center for Nanofi bers and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Engineering,
National University of Singapore(NUS), Singapore, Singapore
5Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University,
Guangzhou, China
6
National Institute of Health and Medical Research UMR977, Faculty of
Dental Surgery, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
7
WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR),
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Abstract
The concept of tissue engineering involves the use of cells, scaffolds and other bio-
molecular factors for the development of biological tissue alternates for medical
needs. Recently, stem cells have been found to be an attractive source for building
tissues or organs in the laboratory due their ability to differentiate into tissue-
specifi c lineages. Scaffolds serve as a temporary structural support for the cells
to grow in a defi ned environment and are essential in particular when culturing
anchorage-dependent cell lineages. Traditionally, scaffolds for tissue engineering
applications were mostly developed from bioinert materials that only provided
physical support to the cells. Later, bioactive materials were introduced that stimu-
lated biological processes in addition to serving as a supporting matrix. However,
synthetic tissue grafting techniques have not progressed to the level where it
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