Natural and synthetic biodegradable polymers: different scaffolds for cell expansion and tissue formation
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Abstract
The formation of tissue produced by implanted cells is influenced greatly by the scaffold onto which
they are seeded. In the long term it is often preferable to use a biodegradable material scaffold so
that all the implanted materials will disappear, leaving behind only the generated tissue. Research in
this area has identified several natural biodegradable materials. Among them, hydrogels are receiv-ing increasing attention due to their ability to retain a great quantity of water, their good biocom-patibility, their low interfacial tension, and the minimal mechanical and frictional irritation that they
cause. Biocompatibility is not an intrinsic property of materials; rather it depends on the biological
environment and the tolerability that exists with respect to specific polymer-tissue interactions. The
most often utilized biodegradable synthetic polymers for 3D scaffolds in tissue engineering are satu-rated poly-a-hydroxy esters, including poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), as well
as poly(lactic-co-lycolide) (PLGA) copolymers. Hard materials provide compressive and torsional
strength; hydrogels and other soft composites more effectively promote cell expansion and tissue
formation. This review focuses on the future potential for understanding the characteristics of the
biomaterials considered evaluated for clinical use in order to repair or to replace a sizable defect by
only harvesting a small tissue sample