In this Editor's Review, articles published in 2017 are organized by category and summarized. We provide a brief reflection of the research and progress in artificial organs intended to advance and better human life while providing insight for continued application of these technologies and methods. Artificial Organs continues in the original mission of its founders "to foster communications in...

A novel hybrid material that mimics NAD(P)H oxidase was designed and tested for the in situ regeneration of assorted enzyme cofactors, as reported by Ana Beloqui co-workers their Communication (e202206926). This fabricated controlled assembly glucose hemin catalysts supported a functional nanogel allocates (bio)catalysts different compartments. The synthesis procedure allows fabrication heterog...

BACKGROUND Interpositional jump graft (IPJG) is a nerve graft axonally supercharged from the hypoglossal nerve. However, for using the technique, an autologous nerve, which should contain the great auricular and sural nerves, must be obtained. Depending on the donor site, unavoidable issues such as nerve disorders and postoperative scarring may appear. To reduce the issues, in this study, the a...

Tissue engineering involves the use of cells (either adult, mesenchymal or embryonic stem cells) coupled with biological or artificial matrices or scaffolds which guide the cells during repair or regeneration of the tissue. Recently discovered and isolated growth factors can promote either adult or stem-cell growth and differentiation along selected pathways to re-form and repair skeletal tissu...

To create an artificial heart is one of the most ambitious dreams of the young field of tissue engineering, a dream that, when publicly announced in 1999 (LIFE initiative around M. Sefton), provoked as much compassion as scepticism in the scientific and lay press. Today, it is fair to state that the field is still far away from having built the "bioartificial heart." Nevertheless, substantial p...

Peripheral nerve research is highly dynamic and a current major focus is the development of cell based supportive therapies as well as bioengineered nerve conduits to overcome the challenges in reconstructing long peripheral nerve defects. Whenever primary nerve repair cannot be performed without regeneration impairing tension at the suture sites, autologous nerve grafting or nerve tubulization...

Amputees cannot feel what they touch with their artificial hands, which severely limits usefulness of those hands. We have developed a technique that transfers remaining arm nerves to residual chest muscles after an amputation. This technique allows some sensory nerves from the amputated limb to reinnervate overlying chest skin. When this reinnervated skin is touched, the amputees perceive that...

Artificial bones have often used for bone regeneration due to their strength, but they cannot provide an adequate environment for cell penetration and settlement. We therefore attempted to explore various materials that may allow the cells to penetrate and engraft in bone defects. PuraMatrix is a self-assembling peptide scaffold that produces a nanoscale environment allowing both cellular penet...

The aim of this study was to determine whether postnatal mammalian central neurons retain the capacity for axonal regeneration across a lesion site in organotypic cultures of the auditory midbrain. Brain slices from the gerbil inferior colliculus (IC) were obtained from postnatal 6-8 d old animal and cultured for 6-15 d in vitro. IC explants containing an intact commissural projection exhibited...