Tissue engineering has become a promising strategy for repairing damaged cartilage and bone tissue Among the scaffolds for tissue-engineering applications, injectable hydrogels have demonstrated great potential for use as three-dimensional cell culture scaffolds in cartilage and bone tissue engineering, owing to their high water content, similarity to the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), porous framework for cell transplantation and proliferation, minimal invasive properties, and ability to match irregular defects In this review, we describe the selection of appropriate biomaterials and fabrication methods to prepare novel injectable hydrogels for cartilage and bone tissue engineering In addition, the biology of cartilage and the bony ECM is also summarized Finally, future perspectives for injectable hydrogels in cartilage and bone tissue engineering are discussed

/pdf/injectable-hydrogels-for-cartilage-and-bone-tissue-5yblito95w.pdf

Injectable hydrogels for cartilage and bone tissue engineering.

Bioprinting is a process based on additive manufacturing from materials containing living cells. These materials, often referred to as bioink, are based on cytocompatible hydrogel precursor formulations, which gel in a manner compatible with different bioprinting approaches. The bioink properties before, during and after gelation are essential for its printability, comprising such features as achievable structural resolution, shape fidelity and cell survival. However, it is the final properties of the matured bioprinted tissue construct that are crucial for the end application. During tissue formation these properties are influenced by the amount of cells present in the construct, their proliferation, migration and interaction with the material. A calibrated computational framework is able to predict the tissue development and maturation and to optimize the bioprinting input parameters such as the starting material, the initial cell loading and the construct geometry. In this contribution relevant bioink properties are reviewed and discussed on the example of most popular bioprinting approaches. The effect of cells on hydrogel processing and vice versa is highlighted. Furthermore, numerical approaches were reviewed and implemented for depicting the cellular mechanics within the hydrogel as well as for prediction of mechanical properties to achieve the desired hydrogel construct considering cell density, distribution and material-cell interaction.

/pdf/bioink-properties-before-during-and-after-3d-bioprinting-ve6nvfekxj.pdf

Bioink properties before, during and after 3D bioprinting

During the resorbable-polymer-boom of the 1970s and 1980s, polycaprolactone (PCL) was used in the biomaterials field and a number of drug-delivery devices. Its popularity was soon superseded by faster resorbable polymers which had fewer perceived disadvantages associated with long term degradation (up to 3-4 years) and intracellular resorption pathways; consequently, PCL was almost forgotten for most of two decades. Recently, a resurgence of interest has propelled PCL back into the biomaterials-arena. The superior rheological and viscoelastic properties over many of its aliphatic polyester counterparts renders PCL easy to manufacture and manipulate into a large range of implants and devices. Coupled with relatively inexpensive production routes and FDA approval, this provides a promising platform for the production of longer-term degradable implants which may be manipulated physically, chemically and biologically to possess tailorable degradation kinetics to suit a specific anatomical site. This review will discuss the application of PCL as a biomaterial over the last two decades focusing on the advantages which have propagated its return into the spotlight with a particular focus on medical devices, drug delivery and tissue engineering.

The return of a forgotten polymer : Polycaprolactone in the 21st century

Hydrogels from different materials can be used in biomedical field as an innovative approach in regenerative medicine. Depending on the origin source, hydrogels can be synthetized through chemical and physical methods. Hydrogel can be characterized through several physical parameters, such as size, elastic modulus, swelling and degradation rate. Lately, research is focused on hydrogels derived from biologic materials. These hydrogels can be derived from protein polymers, such as collage, elastin, and polysaccharide polymers like glycosaminoglycans or alginate among others. Introduction of decellularized tissues into hydrogels synthesis displays several advantages compared to natural or synthetic based hydrogels. Preservation of natural molecules such as growth factors, glycans, bioactive cryptic peptides and natural proteins can promote cell growth, function, differentiation, angiogenesis, anti-angiogenesis, antimicrobial effects, and chemotactic effects. Versatility of hydrogels make possible multiple applications and combinations with several molecules on order to obtain the adequate characteristic for each scope. In this context, a lot of molecules such as cross link agents, drugs, grow factors or cells can be used. This review focuses on the recent progress of hydrogels synthesis and applications in order to classify the most recent and relevant matters in biomedical field.

/pdf/overview-of-natural-hydrogels-for-regenerative-medicine-oc1au3fep1.pdf

Overview of natural hydrogels for regenerative medicine applications

Since so many years ago, tissue damages that are caused owing to various reasons attract scientists' attention to find a practical way to treat. In this regard, many studies were conducted. Nano scientists also suggested some ways and the newest one is called tissue engineering. They use biodegradable polymers in order to replace damaged structures in tissues to make it practical. Biodegradable polymers are dominant scaffolding materials in tissue engineering field. In this review, we explained about biodegradable polymers and their application as scaffolds.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3109/21691401.2016.1146731

Biodegradable and biocompatible polymers for tissue engineering application: a review

An overview of injectable polymeric hydrogels for tissue engineering

Erratum : An Overview of Injectable Polymeric Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering

Injectable gel systems, for the purpose of bone defect reconstruction, have many advantages, such as controlled flowability, adaptability to the defect site, and increased handling properties when compared to the conventionally used autologous graft, scaffolds, hydroxyapatite blocks, etc. In this work, nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) incorporated chitin-poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) based injectable composite microgels has been developed by a simple regeneration technique for bone defect repair. The prepared microgel systems were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The composite microgel, with the incorporation of nHAp, showed an increased elastic modulus and thermal stability and had shear-thinning behavior proving the injectability of the system. The protein adsorption, cytocompatibility, and migration of rabbit adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (rASCs) were also studied. Chitin-PCL-nHAp microgel elicited an e...

Injectable Chitin-Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Nanohydroxyapatite Composite Microgels Prepared by Simple Regeneration Technique for Bone Tissue Engineering

A tri-layered scaffolding approach is adopted for the complete and concurrent regeneration of hard tissues-cementum and alveolar bone-and soft tissue-the periodontal ligament (PDL)-at a periodontal defect site. The porous tri-layered nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold is composed of chitin-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/nanobioactive glass ceramic (nBGC)/cementum protein 1 as the cementum layer, chitin-PLGA/fibroblast growth factor 2 as the PDL layer, and chitin-PLGA/nBGC/platelet-rich plasma derived growth factors as the alveolar bone layer. The tri-layered nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold is cytocompatible and favored cementogenic, fibrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation of human dental follicle stem cells. In vivo, tri-layered nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold with/without growth factors is implanted into rabbit maxillary periodontal defects and compared with the controls at 1 and 3 months postoperatively. The tri-layered nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold with growth factors demonstrates complete defect closure and healing with new cancellous-like tissue formation on microcomputed tomography analysis. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses further confirm the formation of new cementum, fibrous PDL, and alveolar bone with well-defined bony trabeculae in comparison to the other three groups. In conclusion, the tri-layered nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold with growth factors can serve as an alternative regenerative approach to achieve simultaneous and complete periodontal regeneration.

R. Arun Kumar

Papers

An overview of injectable polymeric hydrogels for tissue engineering

Erratum : An Overview of Injectable Polymeric Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering

Injectable Chitin-Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Nanohydroxyapatite Composite Microgels Prepared by Simple Regeneration Technique for Bone Tissue Engineering

Tri-Layered Nanocomposite Hydrogel Scaffold for the Concurrent Regeneration of Cementum, Periodontal Ligament, and Alveolar Bone

Nano-fibrin stabilized CaSO4 crystals incorporated injectable chitin composite hydrogel for enhanced angiogenesis & osteogenesis