Tissue Engineering Concept

Abstract

Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary methodology regarding the development of new tissue that can restore, maintain, or improve damaged tissues or whole organs. The conventional concept in tissue engineering features three distinct elements namely, cells, scaffolds, and bioactive factors, each having its characteristic role. Over the years, new concepts have evolved such as scaffold and cell-free architectures bringing new opportunities and challenges. The cell-free concept uses highly specialized biomaterials to create a bioresponsive scaffold that aids in vivo tissue regeneration. The scaffold-free concept, on the other hand, employs cell sheets, spheroids, or tissue strands as the fundamental building blocks replacing the conventional scaffold. The paper starts by introducing the primary elements associated with tissue engineering along with their functionalities. The various tissue engineering concepts are presented in subsequent sections and upcoming approaches such as bioprinting discussed. As such the paper brings together the various concepts in tissue engineering that offer significant potential for the generation of functional tissues and organs.