Bioceramics and Scaffolds: A Winning Combination for Tissue Engineering.

Francesco Baino,Chiara Vitale-Brovarone,Giorgia Novajra

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2015.00202

Francesco Baino, Chiara Vitale-Brovarone + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2015.00202

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Abstract

In the last few decades, we have assisted to a general increase of elder population worldwide associated with age-related pathologies. Therefore, there is the need for new biomaterials that can substitute damaged tissues, stimulate the body’s own regenerative mechanisms, and promote tissue healing. Porous templates referred to as “scaffolds” are thought to be required for three-dimensional tissue growth. Bioceramics, a special set of fully, partially, or non-crystalline ceramics (e.g., calcium phosphates, bioactive glasses, and glass–ceramics) that are designed for the repair and reconstruction of diseased parts of the body, have high potential as scaffold materials. Traditionally, bioceramics have been used to fill and restore bone and dental defects (repair of hard tissues). More recently, this category of biomaterials has also revealed promising applications in the field of soft-tissue engineering. Starting with an overview of the fundamental requirements for tissue engineering scaffolds, this article provides a detailed picture on recent developments of porous bioceramics and composites, including a summary of common fabrication technologies and a critical analysis of structure–property and structure–function relationships. Areas of future research are highlighted at the end of this review, with special attention to the development of multifunctional scaffolds exploiting therapeutic ion/drug release and emerging applications beyond hard tissue repair.

Highlights

The term “tissue engineering” was up to the mid 1980s loosely applied in the literature in cases of surgical manipulation of tissues and organs or in a broader sense when prosthetic devices or biomaterials were used
Bielby et al (2004) found no significant differences in the proliferation of human primary osteoblasts grown in conditioned cell culture media containing similar Ca, P, and Na ions but different Si ion concentrations released from a sol–gel bioactive glass
The results reported by Verrier et al (2004) demonstrate that the concentration of bioactive glass in tissue engineering polymer-based constructs should be always optimized depending on the considered tissues that we want to regenerate

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The term “tissue engineering” was up to the mid 1980s loosely applied in the literature in cases of surgical manipulation of tissues and organs or in a broader sense when prosthetic devices or biomaterials were used. A special mention should be devoted to the so-called “star gels,” which are a particular type of organically modified silicates (“ormosils”) having an organic core surrounded by flexible arms that are terminated in alkoxysilane groups able to form a silica-like network during the sol–gel process (Vallet-Regí et al, 2006) These hybrid materials show bioactive properties and have fracture toughness higher than that of sol–gel glasses and comparable to that of cancellous bone, having promise for tissue engineering applications that require good long-term fatigue behavior (Manzano et al, 2006). An overview of the main methods used to fabricate bioceramic containing composite scaffolds is provided

Foaming Methods

Findings

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK