NANOFIBER TECHNOLOGY FOR CONTROLLING STEM CELL FUNCTIONS AND TISSUE ENGINEERING - Micro and Nanotechnologies in Engineering Stem Cells and Tissues - page 36

FIGURE 2.4 Scaffold properties. (a) Surface properties. The surface topography could drive
cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. (b) Mechanical properties. Stem
cells respond to the mechanical properties of the substrate on which they are growing, thus
changing their fate. (c) Morphological properties. Scaffold morphologies for stem cell
biomaterial interaction may vary in terms of interconnectivity, pore size, and shape.
(d) Electrical properties. Electrical properties of the substrates are important issues in
biomaterial-cell interaction. (e) Polymeric nanoparticles. Different smart nanosystems,
nanoparticles, and nanoshells can be developed based on biodegradable polymers.
Biodegradable nanosystems allow improvement of the therapeutic value of several water-
soluble and nonsoluble bioactive molecules by improving bioavailability, solubility, and
retention time. Reproduced with permission from Ref. [48].
additional analgesic pharmacological load is required for skin regeneration. Alternate
lifesaving approaches in the treatment of extensive full-thickness wounds, in which
donor sites for split-thickness skin grafts (SSG) harvesting are not available, include the
use of cultured autologous keratinocytes, bioengineered skin substitutes, or both. 51
Significant progress has been made recently in the development and clinical use of these
products. The most common skin injuries or skin wounds are categorized on the basis of
the depth of the skin injury: epidermal or full-thickness skin wounds. Skin can