Mechano-biology as an optimization principle for biological tissue engineering

摘要

Rapid prototyping and direct fabrication has provided researchers and scientist with a wealth of opportunities to fabricate synthetic tissue replacements, so called scaffolds. The goal is to fill critical size defects with such materials and allow the body to slowly degrade them and build de-novo biological tissue on its place. However, for this process to take place the structural organization levels of these synthetic tissue replacements need to follow design criteria that promote cell attachment, cell proliferation, and maintain the cell's differentiated function. The scaffold's architecture defines the ultimate shape of the newly grown tissue. Furthermore, since most scaffolds are needed for tissue repair in load-bearing applications, the mechano-biological component affects tissue growth long after biochemical factors (e.g., growth hormones) or pre-seeded cells are lasting. This article describes current efforts in identifying mechano-biological principle that are believed to guide tissue formation based on biomechanical loading.