Review of "Scaffolding in Tissue Engineering", by Peter X. Ma and Jennifer Elisseeff (Editors)

Tissue engineering (TE) is a relatively new, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field that has seen intense development in recent years. One of the main motivations for TE research is the chronic shortage of organ donors and other limitations related to organ and tissue transplantation. The idea that tissues, and ultimately organs, can be "engineered" to be used in patients requiring transplantation is at the same time revolutionary and stimulating. However, TE is a discipline still at its infancy, an intricate puzzle far from being completed. One key piece of this puzzle is the scaffold that provides temporary support for cell proliferation and differentiated function, allowing neotissue formation and initial remodeling. Surely, the choice of the best scaffold for a particular TE application and how to change an existing scaffold to improve its performance are important components of any TE research project.