Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
[75-76]. Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary ield that involves
the use of biological sciences and engineering to develop tissues that
restore, maintain and enhance tissue function.
In general, there are three main approaches to tissue
engineering:
1. Use isolated cells or cell substitutes as cellular replacement
parts.
2. Use acellular biomaterials capable of inducing tissue
regeneration.
3. Use a combination of cells and materials (typically in the form
of scaffolds).
In this section, we introduce scaffold- and cell-based method
of regeneration. In the irst step, stem cells are extracted from a
human tissue, such as bone marrow or umbilical vein. In the second
step, those stem cells are mass cultured in vitro to increase the
cell number. In the third step, those cultured cells are detached
from a dish and seeded on a canned biocompatible/biodegradable
scaffold. In the fourth step, cells on the scaffold are cultured three-
dimensionally with effective rotation or shaking. After the formation
of 3D tissue substrate in vitro , the artiicial tissue is implanted into
the patient's body. As the world's irst impressive demonstration of
scaffold-based tissue engineering, Vacanti et al. accomplished the
implantation of chondrocytes-seeded biodegradable scaffold in a
nude mouse and the regeneration of cartilage [77]. Owing to the ear-
shaped unique scaffold, the report was quite impressive to tissue
engineering researchers in the world.
The scaffold-based tissue engineering is composed of three
components:
1. Biodegradable scaffold
2. Cell growth factor (CGF)
3. Cells
In general, cells proliferate after adhering on a surface. In our
body, cells are enclosed in extracellular matrix (ECM) and maintain
homeostasis by communicating with surrounding cells. If a tissue
is seriously damaged, both cells and ECM will be lost. Three-
dimensional scaffolds help the regeneration of the tissue as an
artiicial ECM. Therefore, biodegradable scaffold plays an important
role for the effective proliferation of cells and tissue regeneration.
An original scaffold in vivo is ECM. However, if a large portion of a
 
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