DESIGNING NANOFIBROUS SCAFFOLDS FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING - Advanced Biomaterials: Fundamentals, Processing, and Applications - page 432

Figure 13.1. Important stages in tissue engineering.
the use of a guiding template and framework (scaffold) to facilitate 3D cell
growth. Thus, in the second approach, cells are expanded in culture, seeded onto
a guiding framework and allowed to grow and eventually re-implanted in the host
[9]. Herein the guiding framework or the scaffold is a critical component as all
human cells grow in a planer fashion in two-dimensional culture, whereas on a
scaffold (that is, on a 3D structure) they will tend to grow to the shape of the scaf-
fold, thereby providing the essential three dimensionality to the tissue.
13.2.2 Importance of Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering
One of the central objectives of tissue engineering is to create a 3D structure that
can mimic the native ECM until cells seeded within the scaffold synthesize
de novo ECM. This 3D structure acts as a template for cell attachment and tissue
development. The ECM-mimicking scaffolds are normally constructed out of bio-
materials [13] that could be synthetic, such as ceramics, and polymers or natural
materials, such as proteins and carbohydrates (see section on synthetic and