Tissue Engineering Scaffolds for 3D Cell Culture

Abstract

Even though pioneer studies in the field of tissue engineering, either for disease study or for tissue repair, were performed on flat 2D substrates (normally Petri dishes), more recent research has helped to highlight the relevance of three-dimensional systems in cell culture. In fact, even one-dimensional patterns upon have been found more adequate, for mimicking actual cell migration in three-dimensional environments, than conventional two-dimensional scaffolds for cell culture, what puts forward the need for alternative development procedures aiming at a more adequate reproduction of the 3D environment, taking account of both biochemical and biomechanical approaches. The combined employment of computer-aided design, engineering and manufacturing resources, together with rapid prototyping procedures, working on the basis of additive manufacturing approaches, allows for the efficient development of knowledge-based functionally graded scaffolds for effective and biomimetic three-dimensional cell culture in a wide range of materials. Applications of such tissue engineering scaffolds for cell culture include the repair, regeneration and even biofabrication of hard tissues, soft tissues and osteochondral constructs, as well as the modeling of disease development and management, as detailed in forthcoming chapters. In this chapter we present some design and manufacturing strategies for the development of knowledge-based functionally graded tissue engineering scaffolds aimed at different types of tissues. We also detail some prototyping approaches towards low-cost rapid prototyped scaffolds and tumor growth models, as cases of study for illustrating the complete development process of these types of medical devices.