Biomimetic composites and stem cells interaction for bone and cartilage tissue regeneration

Abstract

Development of bone and cartilage are emerging as prominent techniques in the field of tissue engineering because of the abundance of problems caused by disease, injury and trauma. Bone is the main supporting system of the body, a biocomposite of elements and tissues which is responsible for the excellent tensile and loading strength. Cartilage is an avascular, aneural and alymphatic tissue and does not have regenerative capabilities, so a great amount of assistance is required from outside to repair the defect site. Autografts and allografts are useful in the case of bone defects, but still they require a second surgery from the donor, and transmission of diseases are also possible. The objective of this review is to discuss the approaches that have been taken in bone and cartilage tissue engineering with an emphasis on the cell sources such as embryonic stem cells, adipose derived stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and progenitor stem cells. A potential scaffold is also important for the mechanical and cellular functions for bone and cartilage regeneration. Awareness will be spanned over different types of scaffolds such as biomaterial scaffolds, nanofibrous scaffolds and hydrogels. The ultimate aim is to focus on the basic aspects and the importance of various signaling and growth factors for tissue engineering, used for tissues that have a poor self healing capacity, such as cartilage, or when defects are too big for the body's capacity to heal itself, such as large bone defects. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012.