Biomaterials for hollow organ tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is a rapidly advancing field that is likely to transform how medicine is practised in the near future. For hollow organs such as those found in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems or gastrointestinal tract, tissue engineering can provide replacement of the entire organ or provide restoration of function to specific regions. Larger tissue-engineered constructs often require biomaterial-based scaffold structures to provide support and structure for new tissue growth. Consideration must be given to the choice of material and manufacturing process to ensure the de novo tissue closely matches the mechanical and physiological properties of the native tissue. This review will discuss some of the approaches taken to date for fabricating hollow organ scaffolds and the selection of appropriate biomaterials

Microporous Biodegradable Films Promote Therapeutic Angiogenesis

Peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia are common symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Vascular surgery is used to create a bypass around occluded blood vessels to improve blood flow to ischemic muscle, thus avoiding the need for amputation. Attempts to vascularize tissues by therapeutic angiogenesis using delivery of exogenous angiogenic agents are underwhelming. A material-based approach that provides an endogenous stimulus capable of promoting angiogenesis and increased tissue perfusion would provide a paradigm shift in treatment options available. It is reported here that microporous biodegradable films produced using thermally induced phase separation provide a localized biophysical stimulus of proangiogenic genes in vivo that is associated with increased blood vessel density and restoration of blood flow to ischemic tissue. These findings show, for the first time, that acellular, nonfunctionalized biodegradable biomaterials can provide an innovative, material-based approach for therapeutic angiogenesis to enhance tissue reperfusion in vivo

Stem Cells Commitment on Graphene-Based Scaffolds

none8siIn the last years, a rapid development in production, and functionalization of graphene give rise to several products that have shown great potentials in many fields, such as nanoelectronics, energy technology, sensors, and catalysis. In this context we should not forget the biomedical application of graphene that became a new area with outstanding potential. The first study on graphene for biomedical applications has been performed by Dai in 2008 that reported the use of graphene oxide as an efficient nanocarrier for drug delivery. This pioneristic study opened the doors for the use of graphene in widespread biomedical applications such as drug/gene delivery, biological sensing and imaging, antibacterial materials, but also as biocompatible scaffold for cell culture and tissue engineering. The application of graphene-based scaffolds for tissue engineering applications is confirmed by the many exciting and intriguing literature reports over the last few years, that clearly confirm that graphene and its related substrates are excellent platforms for adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of various cells such as human Mesenchymal stem cells, human neuronal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. Since most of the papers on this fields are related to in vitro studies, several future in vivo investigations need to be conducted in order to lead to its utilization as implantable tissue engineering material.mixedBuggio, Maurizio; Tatullo, Marco; Sivolella, Stefano; Gardin, Chiara; Ferroni, Letizia; Mijiritsky, Eitan; Piattelli, Adriano; Zavan, BarbaraBuggio, Maurizio; Tatullo, Marco; Sivolella, Stefano; Gardin, Chiara; Ferroni, Letizia; Mijiritsky, Eitan; Piattelli, Adriano; Zavan, Barbar