Fabrication Techniques for Scaffolds Applied in Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

Tissue engineering strategies in regenerative medicine combine cells, scaffolds, and growth factors to regenerate and reconstruct pathologically damaged tissues such as periodontium, bone, nerves, cartilage skin, heart valves, and various other organs. Scaffolds have a major role as they provide a three-dimensional environment for tissue regeneration. They act as an extracellular matrix that favors the ingrowth of new cells thereby assisting the regeneration of target tissues. Various properties of scaffolds like scaffold architecture, surface topography, biodegradability, mechanical properties, and manufacturing process are important to achieve optimal results in tissue engineering. Scaffold fabrication can be achieved by conventional as well as non-conventional current manufacturing techniques. Solvent casting, phase separation, particulate-leaching, gas foaming, freeze-drying, and electrospinning are conventional methods for fabricating scaffolds. The architecture of these scaffolds greatly depends on processing techniques. Fused deposition modeling, hydrogel processing, selective laser sintering, decellularization techniques, three dimensional printing, and bioprinting, are current techniques for scaffold fabrication. The chapter will give an overview of each fabrication technique and will aid biomedical engineers to select the ideal fabrication technique for specific applications in the field of regenerative medicine.