Introduction Scaffolds used for tissue engineering should mimic the native structure of target tissues, gradually degrade with tissue formation, and coexist in a mechanically dynamic environment (sustain and recover from various deformations without mechanical irritations to the surrounding tissues[1, 2]). In the anatomy of a native blood vessel, endothelial cells are separated from surrounding...

The microvascular network is a simple but critical system that is responsible for a range of important biological mechanisms in the bodies of all animals. The ability to generate a functional microvessel not only makes it possible to engineer vital tissue of considerable size but also serves as a platform for biomedical studies. However, most of the current methods for generating microvessel ne...

BACKGROUND Extensive full-thickness burns require replacement of both epidermis and dermis. In designing skin replacements, the goal has been to re-create this model and make a product which has both essential components. METHODS In the present study, we developed procedures for establishing confluent, stratified layers of cultured human keratinocytes on the surface of modified collagen-chito...

Tissue engineering focuses on the repair and regeneration of tissues through the use of biodegradable scaffold systems that structurally support regions of injury while recruiting and/or stimulating cell populations to rebuild the target tissue. Within bone tissue engineering, the effects of scaffold architecture on cellular response have not been conclusively characterized in a controlled-dens...

Bone tissue engineering requires a well-designed scaffold that can be biodegradable, biocompatible, and support the stem cells to osteogenic differentiation. Porous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold prepared by fused deposition modeling is an attractive biomaterial that has been used in clinic. However, PCL scaffolds lack biological function and osteoinductivity. In this study, we functionalized ...

Deep wounds, such as third-degree burns, often heal with disfiguring scars that are inelastic and lack sweat glands, oil glands, and hair follicles. Therapies that stimulate the regeneration of blood vessels in the wound could significantly improve the healing process, but remain elusive. Guoming Sun et al. (pp. 20976–20981) assessed whether a biodegradable, dextranbased hydrogel—a 3D network o...

A novel biodegradable nanocomposite porous scaffold comprising a beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) matrix and hydroxyl apatite (HA) nanofibers was developed and studied for load-bearing bone tissue engineering. HA nanofibers were prepared with a biomimetic precipitation method. The composite scaffolds were fabricated by a method combining the gel casting and polymer sponge techniques. The ro...

Scaffold supplements such as nanoparticles, components of the extracellular matrix, or growth factors have been incorporated in conventional scaffold materials to produce smart scaffolds for tissue engineering of damaged hard tissues. Due to increasing concerns on the clinical side effects of using large doses of recombinant bone-morphogenetic protein-2 in bone surgery, it is desirable to devel...

Growth plate fractures account for nearly 18.5% of fractures in children. Depending on the type and severity of the injury, inhibited bone growth or angular deformity caused by bone forming in place of the growth plate can occur. The current treatment involves removal of the bony bar and replacing it with a filler substance, such as a free fat graft. Unfortunately, reformation of the bony bar f...

Periodontal repair is a complex process in which regeneration of alveolar bone is a vital component. The aim of this study was to develop a biodegradable scaffold with good biocompatibility and osteoinductive ability. Two types of composite fibrous scaffolds were produced by electrospinning, ie, type I collagen/poly(ε-caprolactone) (COL/PCL) and type I collagen/poly(ε-caprolactone)/nanoscale hy...