Abstract
Although the use of porous scaffolds in tissue engineering has been relatively successful, there are still many limitations that need to be addressed, such as low vascularization, low oxygen and nutrient levels, and immune-induced inflammation. As a result, the current porous scaffolds are insufficient when treating large defects. This paper analyzed scientific research pertaining to the effects of macro-/micro-channels on the cell recruitment, vascularization, and immune response of tissue engineering scaffolds. Most of the studies contained either cell culturing experimentation or experimentation on small animals such as rats and mice. The sacrificial template method, template casting method, and 3D printing method were the most common methods in the fabrication of channeled scaffolds. Some studies combine the sacrificial and 3D printing methods to design and create their scaffold with channels. The overall results from these studies showed that the incorporation of channels within scaffolds greatly increased vascularization, reduced immune response, and was much more beneficial for cell and growth factor recruitment compared with control groups that contained no channels. More research on the effect of micro-/macro-channels on vascularization or immune response in animal models is necessary in the future in order to achieve clinical translation.
Highlights
Despite the plethora of studies on porous scaffolds in many tissue engineering fields and the success achieved, there are still major challenges to be addressed, such as low vascularization, low oxygen and nutrient levels, and immune-induced inflammation; the size of the regenerated tissue has only reached a few hundred micrometers
With the increased demand for regenerative medicine, tissue engineering products are widely used in repairing defective tissues that arise through accidents and injuries and treating diseases that cannot be otherwise cured through ordinary medicines [2]
Tissue engineering scaffolds, which are made of polymers, ceramics, and composite biomaterials, are of great interest as implanted scaffolds due to their wide range of properties and tunability to match the needs of forming diverse structure [4,5]
Summary
Despite the plethora of studies on porous scaffolds in many tissue engineering fields and the success achieved, there are still major challenges to be addressed, such as low vascularization, low oxygen and nutrient levels, and immune-induced inflammation; the size of the regenerated tissue has only reached a few hundred micrometers. Recent studies have shown that the incorporation of macro-/micro-channels into a porous scaffold may increase vascularization and allow oxygen and other nutrients to be distributed throughout the scaffold in regenerating larger tissue constructs [1]. The purpose of this literature review is to critically analyze scientific research pertaining to the effects of macro-/micro-channels on cell recruitment, vascularization, and immune response of tissue engineering scaffolds
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