Applications in Tissue Engineering

Inorganic phases can be added to the different polymer matrices in the form of micron-sized or nanoscale particles or fibers. The size of the filler particles is an important parameter that affects the mechanical properties of composite materials. This is due to the marked microstructural differences introduced by the micron-sized or nanoscale fillers that contribute towards different interactions between the filler particles and the polymer matrix. In general, the introduction of nanoscale fillers with a desired morphology can increase the mechanical strength and stiffness of the composites in comparison to the properties of the neat polymer. The use of nanoscale degradable fillers such as bioactive glass or 

the introduction of bioactive glass nanoparticles as fillers in biodegradable polymers adds many interesting features, and represents a promising step towards the development of improved biomaterials for bone regeneration, as well as engineered scaffolds for tissue engineering appUcations. 

Clinical applications of the systems described in this chapter are still very hmited. Nevertheless, it is expected that the intense research effort focused on these technologies will produce significant contributions to make this systems fully available in the clinical market within the coming years. This section highlights the opportunities and promising applications of smart instructive biomaterials in TE. 

In bone regeneration it is important to promote the production of bonelike apatite onto the biomaterial surface (Alves et al, 2010). Examples of induced biomineralization found in nature have inspired the production of advanced materials and coatings for a wide range of biomedical and technological applications (Aizenberg, 2004). It has been shown that surface bio-mimetic mineralization may be triggered by either temperature (Shi et al, 2007) or pH (Dias et al, 200S). 

Hydrophilic (non-cell adhesive) Hydrophobic (cell adhesive) 

3 Heart valve and vascular graft tissue engineering 

Pluronic has been extensively used in the pharmaceutical industry as a carrier for the controlled release of drugs (Kabanov et al, 2002). A copolymer of Pluronic with chitosan was developed as an injectable cell delivery carrier for cartilage regeneration (Park et al, 2009). The efficacy of poly(lactic-co-glycolic add)/F127 nerve guidance channels has also been demonstrated in an animal trial the results showed enhanced nerve regeneration associated with the use of this material (Oh et al, 2008). 

The development of a model for the entire cartilage spectrum, without the use of pure-component spectra, holds much promise because it does not require user intervention. In addition, the incorporation of many (15-i-) factors into a least-squares model may be necessary to describe the interactions between collagen and proteoglycan molecules. Moreover, the incorporation of a parsimony measure to reduce noise contributions in model development may provide a better classification of osteoarthritic-related damage. 

43 Chrit, L., Hadjur, C., Morel, S., Sockalingum, G., Lebourdon, G., Leroy, 

74 Marieb, E.N. (1998) Anatomy and Physiology, 4th edn, HumanBenjamin/ Cummings Science Publishers, Menlo Park, CA. 

88 Edwards, H.G.M. and Carter, E.A. (2001) Biological Applications of Raman Spectroscopy, Vol. 24, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York. 

Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy and Spectral Imaging of Individual Cells 

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In practice, further important aspects of BC are the focus of interest, concerning cooling of overtaxed muscles and particularly wound treatment of animals such as horses, sheep, cows, cats, and dogs. Extremely highly infected wounds are frequent in dogs after car crashes or similar accidents [143]. Furthermore, treatment of badly healing and permanent wounds, e.g., ulcers, and in the clinical and home-care sector both for human and veterinary medicine, as well as specific applications in tissue engineering will be major future developments. 

Understanding particle adhesion to a surface has applications in tissue engineering and particle processing. Experimental techniques for charactering particle adhesion to surfaces include laser trapping, AFM and microscopy with force measurement. 

To overcome the current limitations, one approach developed mainly in the last 5 years has been to study multiscale scaffolds in an attempt to mimic hierarchical tissue structures. This review essentially focuses on studies involving multiscale fibrous scaffolds, their development, use of different fabrication methods, their properties, and specific applications in tissue engineering. 

Highly Aligned Polymer Nanofiber Structures Fabrication and Applications in Tissue Engineering... 

Biomimetic nanocrystalline apatite coatings were deposited on titanium substrates by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE), a technique with potential application in tissue engineering (Visan et al., 2014 Caricato etal., 2014). The targets were prepared from nano-sized, poorly crystalline apatite powders, analogous in composition to mineral bone. For the deposition of thin films, a KrF excimer laser source was used (A = 248 nm,rFWHM < 25 ns). Analyses of the deposited films showed that the structural and chemical nature of the nanocrystalline precursor apatite was preserved. Hence, MAPLE may be a suitable technique for the congruent transfer of a delicate material such as nanohydroxyapatite. 

Figure 7.3-2. Matrix-based DNA delivery can be divided into encapsulation and release approaches, where the nucleic acid is encapsulated for later release, and matrix-tethered delivery, where nucleic acid polyplexes or lipoplexes are immobilized directly to a matrix that also supports cell adhesion. These approaches are typically used for applications in tissue engineering where the delivery of nucleic acids is used to augment tissue formation.

Biodegradable microspheres have been widely used as substrates for cell cultivation and expansion. In particular, these microspheres have potential applications in tissue engineering as injectable microcarriers for various cell types, including stem cells. 

The obtained structures present a morphology very similar to the extracellular matrix, i.e., a finely interconnected nanoscale substructure, and could be suitable for scaffolding applications in tissue engineering. In fact, this kind of nanometric fibrous network is the ideal environment for cell adhesion and growth for various tissue engineering applications (bones, cartilages, blood vessels, skin, etc.) [65]. 

Nwe N, Stevens WF, Tamura H (2007) Extraction of the chitosan-glucan complex and chitosan from fungal cell wall and their application in tissue engineering. In Abstracts of papers, 234th ACS national meeting, Boston, CARB-118... 

Anseth KS, Metters AT, Bryant SJ, Martens PJ, Elisseeff JH, Bowman CN. In situ forming degradable networks and their application in tissue engineering and drug delivery. J Control Release 2002 78 199-209. 

Vasita, R., Katti, D.S., 2006. Nanofibres and their applications in tissue engineering. International Journal of Nanomedicine 1, 15—30. 

L., Drager, G., et al. Laser fabrication of three-dimensional CAD scaffolds from photosensitive gelatin for applications in tissue engineering. 2011,12,851-858. 

Chltosan as a Biomaterial Structure, Properties, and Applications in Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery... 

THE and chloroform. It was postulated that the presence of PCL segments in the molecular backbone should provide materials with highly promising biomedical applications in tissue engineering, drug/gene delivery, and wound healings. 

Khetan S, Chung C and Burdick J A (2009), Tuning hydrogel properties for applications in tissue engineering , Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc, 1, 2094-6. 

Table 6.2 Injectable composites and applications in tissue engineering... 

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