A Manual for Biomaterials/Scaffold Fabrication Technology (Manuals in Biomedical Research) (Volume 4)

Tissue engineering has been recognized as offering an alternative technique to whole-organ and tissue transplantation for diseased, failed, or malfunctioned organs. To reconstruct a new tissue via tissue engineering, the following triad components are needed: (1) cells which are harvested and dissociated from the donor tissue; (2) biomaterials as scaffold substrates in which cells are attached and cultured, resulting in implantation at the desired site of the functioning tissue; and (3) growth factors which promote and/or prevent cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Of these three key components, scaffolds play a critical role in tissue engineering. This timely book focuses on the preparation and characterization of scaffold biomaterials for the application of tissue-engineered scaffolds. More importantly, it serves as an experimental guidebook on the standardization of the fabrication process and characterization of scaffolding technology.