Abstract
Tissue regeneration is an auto-healing mechanism, initiating immediately following tissue damage to restore normal tissue structure and function. This falls in line with survival instinct being the most dominant instinct for any living organism. Nevertheless, the process is slow and not feasible in all tissues, which led to the emergence of tissue engineering (TE). TE aims at replacing damaged tissues with new ones. To do so, either new tissue is being cultured in vitro and then implanted, or stimulants are implanted into the target site to enhance endogenous tissue formation. Whichever approach is used, a matrix is used to support tissue growth, known as ‘scaffold’. In this review, an overall look at scaffolds fabrication is discussed, starting with design considerations and different biomaterials used. Following, highlights of conventional and advanced fabrication techniques are attentively presented. The future of scaffolds in TE is ever promising, with the likes of nanotechnology being investigated for scaffold integration. The constant evolvement of organoids and biofluidics with the eventual inclusion of organ-on-a-chip in TE has shown a promising prospect of what the technology might lead to. Perhaps the closest technology to market is 4D scaffolds following the successful implementation of 4D printing in other fields.
Highlights
The survival of living organisms depends mainly on their self-healing capabilities in response to tissue damage
Despite the major milestones accomplished in the field of tissue engineering (TE) and fabrication of scaffolds, there is still a major gap between the focus areas in literature and some key points if a broad application is desired
Most of the ongoing research focuses on the implantation of scaffolds of critical sizes with major neglection of large size tissue repair
Summary
The survival of living organisms depends mainly on their self-healing capabilities in response to tissue damage. The modern concept of TE was later introduced by Langer and Vacanti in 1993 as “an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and life sciences towards the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain or improve tissue functions” [8]. They shed light on isolated cell implants, incorporation of growth factors to promote tissue regeneration, and use of matrices to carry cells, growth factors, and signaling cues to the defect tissue [8]. Attention will be directed to the more mainstream scaffold-based approaches with design considerations, biomaterials used, and different conventional and advanced fabrication techniques employed to produce scaffolds
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