History, Challenges, and Opportunities in Tissue Engineering

Abstract

In the last several decades, the area of tissue engineering has experienced significant growth, bringing to the clinic treatments that were long thought to be the stuff of science fiction. Although the use of tissue engineering concepts in clinics is not particularly common, the field is predicted to have a very bright future as more tissues will be added to the list of “clinically applicable tissue engineered constructs.” Future advancements are likely to make it feasible to combine immune-transparent cells with a commercially available scaffold and cultivate them in a sophisticated bioreactor to provide messages specifically designed for the target region. However, much basic and applied scientific study is still needed before off-the-shelf body parts become therapeutically useful. The development of innovative biomaterials for the various tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications will be the main focus of future efforts. The biomaterials' structure and mechanical characteristics will be tailored to better fit the target tissue.