Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
23.6 Conclusions and Outlook
Tissue engineering, which is the restoration or replacement of lost
or damaged tissue or organs with transplantation of engineered
tissue, has come into the spotlight. During the past decade, many
researchers have developed various artificial tissue, including skin,
cartilage, bone, liver, and nerve, in tissue engineering. Chitosan
has great potential as a scaffold material by the presence of reac-
tive functional groups, gel-forming ability, high adsorption capac-
ity, biodegradability, intrinsic antibacterial nature, minimal foreign
body reaction, and nontoxicity. The scaffolds can be controlled by
their size and shape, pore morphology, and mechanical property
for cells and application sites in the body. Chitosan has the ability
to be prepared in various geometries and forms, such as porous
sponges, beads, and thermo-gelling hydrogels, suitable for cell
ingrowths and phenotype. However, the scaffolds based on chitosan
require improvement of the mechanical property for application in
complicated tissues and organs, and many studies for the control
mechanism of the interaction with various cells and chitosan must
be carried out. Many
in vivo
studies also have to be investi-
gated since the majority of the studies have been carried out
in vitro
.
Inrecentyears,HemCon
R
Bandage,ahemostaticdressingbased
on chitosan for the external temporary control of severely bleed-
ing wounds, was developed by HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc.,
in USA, and was approved by the FDA. HemCon Medical Technolo-
gies, Inc., commercialized HemCon
R
dental dressings, KytoStat
TM
bandages, ChitoFlex
R
hemostatic dressings, and ChitoFlex
R
surgi-
caldressingsforbattlefield,emergency,laboratory,o
ce,andhome
use.
25
BioSyntech also developed BST-DermOn
TM
, BST-CarGel
R
,
BST-Ossifil
TM
, and BST-Disc
TM
for wound healing, cartilage repair,
bone-filling product, and restoration disc volume using injectable
thermo-gelling hydrogels (BST-Gel
R
) consisting of chitosan and
β
-
GP. Chitosan is expected to be approved by the FDA for implants
since BioSyntech is currently conducting a pivotal clinical trial on
its products in Canada, Spain, and Korea.
36
Therefore, it is expected
that chitosan will be used in scaffolds and cell delivery vehicles in
clinicalmedicine before long.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search