Nanomaterials for Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

Organ or tissue loss due to accidents, diseases, or aging has been a major problem in medicine which until recently could have only been alleviated with organ or tissue transplantation. Tremendous efforts of scientists working in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have resulted in several successful cases where engineered scaffold systems were used to replace several major organs such as trachea (Hofstetter, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 156(3):1273–1274, 2018). In addition, there are also many studies that have been performed on animal models (Annesini et al., Artificial organ engineering, Springer, Cham, 2017; Brohem et al., Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research, 24:35–50, 2011; Malchesky, Artificial Organs, 33:273–295, 2009), which are expected to pave the way for novel treatment options for humans who need organ transplantation. Extracellular matrix (ECM) is an especially important factor to consider when engineering artificial organs or tissue replacements. In this chapter, we will overview the major challenges and crucial design principles for engineering new materials for regenerative medicine. To better explain these principles, we will also provide a brief introduction on what regenerative medicine is and its major components and the types of nanomaterials that are currently being used for regenerative medicine applications.