skip to content
Dovepress - Open Access to Scientific and Medical Research
View our mobile site

8852

Novel opportunities and challenges offered by nanobiomaterials in tissue engineering

Review

(3457) Views  (1290) Full article downloads

Authors: Fabrizio Gelain

Published Date August 2008 Volume 2008:3(4) Pages 415 - 424
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S3795

Fabrizio Gelain

Bioscience and Biotechnology Department, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

Abstract: Over the last decades, tissue engineering has demonstrated an unquestionable potential to regenerate damaged tissues and organs. Some tissue-engineered solutions recently entered the clinics (eg, artificial bladder, corneal epithelium, engineered skin), but most of the pathologies of interest are still far from being solved. The advent of stem cells opened the door to large-scale production of “raw living matter” for cell replacement and boosted the overall sector in the last decade. Still reliable synthetic scaffolds fairly resembling the nanostructure of extracellular matrices, showing mechanical properties comparable to those of the tissues to be regenerated and capable of being modularly functionalized with biological active motifs, became feasible only in the last years thanks to newly introduced nanotechnology techniques of material design, synthesis, and characterization. Nanostructured synthetic matrices look to be the next generation scaffolds, opening new powerful pathways for tissue regeneration and introducing new challenges at the same time. We here present a detailed overview of the advantages, applications, and limitations of nanostructured matrices with a focus on both electrospun and self-assembling scaffolds.

Keywords: self-assembling peptide, electrospinning, tissue engineering, functionalization








Readers of this article also read:

Nanofibers and their applications in tissue engineering
Nano-vectors for efficient liver specific gene transfer
Formation of potential titanium antigens based on protein binding to titanium dioxide nanoparticles
Enhanced endothelial cell density on NiTi surfaces with sub-micron to nanometer roughness
Recent advances in ceramic implants as drug delivery systems for biomedical applications
Evidence-based decision-making within the context of globalization: A “Why–What–How” for leaders and managers of health care organizations
Radiolucency below the crown of mandibular horizontal incompletely impacted third molars and acute inflammation in men with diabetes
Polyanionic carbohydrate doxorubicin–dextran nanocomplex as a delivery system for anticancer drugs: in vitro analysis and evaluations
Comparison of two treatments for coxarthrosis: local hyperthermia versus radio electric asymmetrical brain stimulation
Elucidation mechanism of different biological responses to multi-walled carbon nanotubes using four cell lines