Synthetic polymers engineered scaffolds

Abstract Synthetic polymers and biopolymers are extensively used within the field of tissue engineering. Some common examples of these materials include polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, collagen, elastin, and various forms of polysaccharides. In terms of application, these materials are primarily used in the construction of scaffolds that aid in the local delivery of cells and growth factors, and in many cases fulfill a mechanical role in supporting physiologic loads that would otherwise be supported by a healthy tissue. In this review we will examine the development of scaffolds derived from biopolymers and their use with various cell types in the context of tissue engineering the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc. 

Kretlow JD, Mikos AG (2007) Review mineralization of synthetic polymer scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Tissue Eng 13(5) 927—938... 

Selection of a tissue engineering substrate includes a choice between absorbable and nonabsorbable material, as well as a choice between synthetic and naturally derived materials. The most common synthetic polymers used for fibrous meshes and porous scaffolds include polyesters such as polylactide and polyglycolide and their copolymers, polycaprolactone, and polyethylene glycol. Synthetic polymers have advantages over natural polymers in select instances, such as the following i... 

In recent years, a rapid progress has been made in the field of biomedical materials, which combine natural and synthetic polymers and can be used in a variety of applications, including wound closure [43, 44], drug delivery systems [45, 46], novel vascular grafts [47-50] or scaffolds [51, 52] for in vitro or in vivo tissue engineering [50, 53, 54]. 

Chitosan membranes have been proposed as an artificial kidney membrane because of their suitable permeability and high tensile strength. Chitosan and its same derivatives are used to prepare scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. It can also be used for designing artificial skin, treatment of brain-scalp damage, and in plastic skin surgery. Chitosan has replaced the synthetic polymers in ophthalmo-logical applications due to its characteristic properties such... 

Synthetic polymers commonly used in numerous biomedical devices offer the distinct advantage of high level of control over the chemical properties of the polymer. As a scaffold for adipose tissue engineering, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, and copolymers incorporating both have been widely investigated due to their ability to degrade over... 

Zhang et al. also used a blend of natural and synthetic polymers to try and improve the biocompatibility, mechanical, chemical, and physical properties of tissue engineering scaffolds [42], In this study, the natural polymer, silk fibroin, was selected for biocompatibility, permeability. 

---