Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering

Biomaterials are essential in tissue engineering, serving as scaffolds to support cell attachment, proliferation, and tissue regeneration. These materials can be natural, synthetic, or hybrid, each offering unique advantages. Natural biomaterials, such as collagen, fibrin, and alginate, closely mimic the extracellular matrix, promoting biocompatibility and bioactivity. Synthetic biomaterials, including polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA), and polyethylene glycol (PEG), provide tunable properties like strength, degradation rate, and reproducibility. Advances in composite biomaterials combine the strengths of both types. Ideal biomaterials are biocompatible, biodegradable, and mechanically suitable, facilitating cell signaling, vascularization, and tissue integration for effective regenerative therapies.