Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 18
Tissue Engineering and Stem Cells: Summary
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast
enough
Mario Andreti
What are the Newest Bioengineering Approaches
that Made a Breakthrough?
The newest bioengineering approaches that have made a breakthrough would have
to be tissue engineering (TE) oriented: the use of 3D architecture to create porous,
load-bearing scaffolds for bone tissue engineering [
1-
3
] . This creation of bone
structure can still allow for nutrient flow and waste removal to keep the surround-
ing, living bone, viable, but can increase the structure and rigidity of the bone. The
use of rapid prototyping and 3D printing is especially interesting because one can
create geometries that are impossible with typical machining.
What is Fundamental Requirement for Biomaterials
Used in TE and Why?
The fundamental requirement of biomaterials is compatibility. The material being
placed in the body must be very carefully constructed, and have compatible geom-
etries, chemical properties, material properties, microstructure, etc. so that it can
interact with the host cell's in a desirable way. There is a strong risk of rejection, or
a negative reaction by the host, if any of these properties are not appropriate. The
material, in general, is meant to interact with the host cells, usually in a positive
