Tissue Engineering Methods and Protocols

In recent years, the field of tissue engineering has begun, in part, to c- lesce around the important clinical goal of developing substitutes or repla- ments for defective tissues or organs. These efforts are focused on many tissues including skin, cartilage, liver, pancreas, bone, blood, muscle, the vascu- ture, and nerves. There is a staggering medical need for new and effective treatments for acquired as well as inherited defects of organs/tissues. Tissue engineering is at the interface of the life sciences, engineering, and clinical medicine and so draws upon advances in cell and molecular biology, mate- als sciences, and surgery, as well as chemical and mechanical engineering. Such an interdisciplinary field requires a broad knowledge base as well as the use of a wide assortment of methods and approaches. It is hoped that by bringing together these protocols, this book will help to form connections - tween the different disciplines and further stimulate the synergism underlying the foundation of the tissue engineering field.