Emerging Trends in Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering is a rapidly expanding field, combining knowledge in biological sciences, engineering, and medicine. It aims at the development of strategies to produce a variety of tissues, both in vitro and in vivo to restore, maintain, or enhance tissue function. Until recently, most tissue-engineering approaches involved the use of cell-seeded scaffolds made of natural or synthetic biodegradable polymers, engineered to reproduce basic tissue function. The synthesis of new biomaterials and the development of new fabrication strategies have led to increased complexity in the structure and biological function of actual tissue-engineered constructs. Microtechnologies and bioreactors have resulted in the production of more complex cellular microenvironments, enhancing the functionality of engineered tissues. New therapeutic approaches are currently evolving from the combination of tissue-engineering strategies with the better understanding of cellular interactions and mechanisms determining stem cell differentiation. Major innovations such as the incorporation of appropriate architecture, vascularization, and bioactivity are still needed to produce thick and specialized tissues for the fabrication of entire organs. Moreover, strategies that proved to be efficient in fundamental research need to be standardized, reproduced efficiently, and made readily available for patient treatment. Therefore, advances in the field highly depend on the close collaboration between biologists, engineers, and clinicians. Furthermore, translation of tissue-engineering technologies from the laboratory to the clinic also depends on strengthening the interaction between regulatory agencies and businesses, in order to push forward this multidisciplinary technology and accelerate the success rate of tissue-engineering applications.