Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Claudio Migliaresi is professor of composite materials engineering and of biomaterials and biomedical technologies, head of the Department of Industrial Engineering, dean of the School of Industrial Engineering, and head of the BIOtech Research Center of the University of Trento, Italy. His research activities range from composite materials to biodegradable polymers, biomaterials, materials, and scaffolds for tissue engineering. Prof. Migliaresi has published about 200 papers, edited the five volumes of the book Polymers in Medicine, and owns some patents. Antonella Motta is assistant professor at the University of Trento and has qualified as associate professor of bioengineering by the Italian evaluation system. She teaches bioengineering and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine courses. Prof. Motta’s research activities are mainly focused on nature-derived polymers for tissue engineering applications, scaffold design, and interactions of material–biological systems. She has published about 90 papers, edited several chapters on tissue engineering, and owns some patents.

"This comprehensive textbook begins with chapters covering the structural and functional biology of body tissues, their healing processes, and their regeneration and ends with a chapter looking toward the future commercialization of tissue-engineered scaffolds. It should be useful for those doing research on tissue-engineered scaffolds, companies developing tissue-engineered products, and clinicians looking to the future replacement of tissues in the clinic."Prof. Allan S. Hoffman, University of Washington, USA"The current volume provides an excellent basis to assist researchers in leaving the path of trial and error and designing scaffolds on the basis of true understanding. It is a must-read for anybody interested in tissue engineering."Prof. Clemens A. van Blitterswijk, University of Twente, the Netherlands"Tissue engineering is the most promising technology to treat various diseases by using cultured cells and will be a main actor in medical science in the twenty-first century. The fusion of medicine and engineering is essentially indispensable for tissue engineering, especially scaffold-based tissue engineering. This very timely book will be equally useful for those who have engineering, medical, and biological science background."Prof. Teruo Okano, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Japan

• Preface, 1 Overview: An Evolving State of the Art in Tissue Engineering, 2 The Functional Role of Extracellular Matrix, 3 The Premise of Tissue Engineering: Molecular Recognition, 4 Principles and Biological Pathways to Tissue Regeneration: The Tissue Regenerative Niche, 5 Host Response to Biomaterials, 6 Scaffold Vascularization, The Role of Osteoblasts in in vitro Vascularization, 7 Engineering Biomimetic Scaffolds, 8 Biomaterials for Scaffolds: Synthetic Polymers, 9 Biomaterials for Scaffolds: Natural Polymers, 10 Hydrogels: Characteristics and Properties, Protein-Based Hydrogels, 11 Fabrication Methods of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, 12 Engineered Scaffolds: Materials and Microstructure from Nanostructures to Macrostructures for Tissue Engineering, Decellularized Tissues as Scaffolds, 13 Organ Printing and Cell Encapsulation, 14 In vitro and in vivo Testing, 15 Bioreactor Strategies for in vitro Conditioning of Engineered Tissues, 16 Microvascular Imaging Methods for Tissue Engineering, 17 Tissue Engineering: Scope, Products, and Commercialization Strategies