Advancement of the preparation technology of the porous scaffolds for the tissue engineering

Abstract

As an essential element of tissue engineering,the shape,pore size,and porosity of the porous scaffolds have direct influence on the attachment,proliferation,and differentiation of seeding cell as well as their properties.So it is important to be able to prepare an ideal porous scaffold which is able to provide the cells with an excellent micrcenvirenment in order to support their growth and differentiation.In this article,we reviewed some kinds of the preparation technologies of the porous scaffolds for tissue engineering,including fiber bonding,emulsion freeze drying,solvent casting/particulate leaching,high-pressuro processing,gas foaming/particulate leaching,thermally induced phase separation,and electro-spinning,with focus on rapid prototyping.It is our belief that the combination of the basic technologies and the rapid prototyping technology which is able to control the properties of the scaffolds and could be applied for individualized scaffold construction would be the major focus of research in the future. Key words: Tissue engineering; Porous scaffolds; Preparation technology; Rapid prototyping