Polymers of Biological Origin

Abstract

The fields of tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine aim at promoting the regeneration of tissues or replacing failing or malfunctioning organs, by means of combining a scaffold/support material, adequate cells and bioactive molecules. Different materials have been proposed to be used both as three-dimensional porous scaffolds and as hydrogel matrices for distinct TE strategies. Among them, polymers of natural origin are one of the most attractive options, mainly due to their similarities with the extracellular matrix (ECM), chemical versatility, as well as typically good biological performance. In this chapter, the most studied and the most promising recently proposed natural-derived polymers that have been placed forward for TE applications are reported. Different classes of such types of polymers and their blends with synthetic polymers are analyzed, with special focus on polysaccharides and proteins, the systems more inspired on the ECM. Also, the adaptation of conventional methods or nonconventional processing techniques for processing scaffolds from natural origin-based polymers is reviewed. The use of particles and injectable systems from such kind of materials is also overviewed, especially on what concerns to the present status of the research that should lead toward their final application.