In Vivo Tracking of Tissue Engineered Constructs.

Carmen J Gil,Martin L Tomov,Morteza Mahmoudi,Alexander Cetnar,Andrea S Theus,Vahid Serpooshan

doi:10.3390/mi10070474

Abstract

To date, the fields of biomaterials science and tissue engineering have shown great promise in creating bioartificial tissues and organs for use in a variety of regenerative medicine applications. With the emergence of new technologies such as additive biomanufacturing and 3D bioprinting, increasingly complex tissue constructs are being fabricated to fulfill the desired patient-specific requirements. Fundamental to the further advancement of this field is the design and development of imaging modalities that can enable visualization of the bioengineered constructs following implantation, at adequate spatial and temporal resolution and high penetration depths. These in vivo tracking techniques should introduce minimum toxicity, disruption, and destruction to treated tissues, while generating clinically relevant signal-to-noise ratios. This article reviews the imaging techniques that are currently being adopted in both research and clinical studies to track tissue engineering scaffolds in vivo, with special attention to 3D bioprinted tissue constructs.

Highlights

A significant portion of recent advancements in the field of tissue engineering (TE) has focused on design, developing, and characterization of new biomaterials that can be used as tissue mimics to model a variety of diseases in vitro, or as implants to repair or regenerate damaged tissues in vivo [1,2,3]
The advent of new automated additive manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing and bioprinting, together with computer-aided design (CAD) modeling, have allowed for higher throughput biofabrication of 3D scaffolding systems with increasing structural and functional complexities to be used in patient-specific TE and precision medicine applications [4,5,6,7,8]
It is vital to design and utilize effective imaging and tracking methods to closely monitor the scaffolds following implantation in the patient’s body [9,10]. These techniques should enable noninvasive, real-time examination of properties including the graft stability and position, biomaterial-tissue interactions, blood perfusion, and function. To achieve this goal, imaging techniques with minimal invasiveness as well high penetration depth and high resolution are required to provide a clear contrast between the embedded biological materials and the surrounding tissue

Summary

Introduction

A significant portion of recent advancements in the field of tissue engineering (TE) has focused on design, developing, and characterization of new biomaterials that can be used as tissue mimics to model a variety of diseases in vitro, or as implants to repair or regenerate damaged tissues in vivo [1,2,3]. It is vital to design and utilize effective imaging and tracking methods to closely monitor the scaffolds following implantation in the patient’s body [9,10]. These techniques should enable noninvasive, real-time examination of properties including the graft stability and position, biomaterial-tissue interactions (e.g., biocompatibility, degradation, and integration with host tissue), blood perfusion (angiogenesis), and function (e.g., contractile function of a cardiac patch). TnhdeeMlinaeiantifnogcuhsowitlhl beegoenedrealipnreiantciinpglehoofwoptheeragteionneraanldpreincecniptlaedovfaonpcermateionnts aindthreecimenatgaindgvamnectehmodesnct saninaitdhethiemraegseinargchmeertshiondths ecafineldaitdo tsheelercet stehaermchoesrtseffinectthiveefiiemldagtoinsgemleecthtohdes mfoorstheefifrecintiveiviomsatguidnigesm. ethods for their in vivo studies

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