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Bioengineering
Special Issues
Development of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications
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Development of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biofabrication and Biomanufacturing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 5925

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chara Simitzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Precision Healthcare, Applied Biomedical Engineering Group, UCL Division of Medicine, University College London, London WC1E 6JF, UK
Interests: scaffolds for tissue engineering applications; cell culture platforms; biointerfaces; nerve tissue engineering; orthopaedic tissue engineering; micro-/nanopatterning; mesenchymal stem cells for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
Prof. Dr. Richard M. Day

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Applied Biomedical Engineering Group, Centre for Precision Healthcare, UCL Division of Medicine, University College London, London WC1E 6JF, UK
Interests: tissue engineering; regenerative medicine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tissue engineering (TE) strategies typically use cells, scaffolds and biological signals with the aim to restore tissue/organ function. Various developments and synergies in the fields of biomaterials, cell/tissue biology and regenerative medicine provide valuable tools, strategies and knowledge that contribute to the progress of TE. However, different challenges still exist which slow the translation of scaffold-based TE products to clinical applications.

Conventional scaffold-based TE approaches involve pre-shaping biomaterial components into desired shapes using a great plethora of manufacturing techniques, followed by cell seeding and culturing. This top-down approach has successfully enabled the formation of tissues with simpler anatomies, such as skin and cartilage. However, it entails limitations such as insufficient cell seeding and nutrient transfer, which become an issue when aiming at manufacturing complex tissues.

To overcome the challenges associated with the top-down TE approaches, bottom-up and modular TE strategies have been increasingly investigated in recent years. These include cellularized building blocks that can assemble “bottom-up” into larger tissue-like constructs with the aim to recapitulate tissue hierarchy and complexity and promote the maturation of TE constructs. Such strategies can represent a paradigm shift in TE, especially for the manufacturing of tissues with complex anatomies.

To improve cell seeding efficiency in the scaffolds, in vitro dynamic culture systems are being developed. The combination of in vitro and in silico approaches together with developments in biosensor technology are envisaged to shed light into the parameters influencing TE processes in these systems and improve translational outcomes.

Another important consideration when designing a TE scaffold is to promote the vascularization for the TE constructs, enhancing their long-term survival and function. For that, different bioengineering strategies, including the bioprinting and encapsulation of bioactive signals, are being developed to promote the temporal and spatial control of vascularization processes in TE scaffolds.

Apart from cell delivery, scaffolds are also designed and developed for the controlled and localized delivery of drugs/biomolecules to affect tissue regeneration while reducing complications related to systemic delivery.

This Special Issue on “Development of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications” is open for original research papers and comprehensive reviews addressing (but not limited to) the following topics:

  1. Design and (bio)fabrication techniques of TE scaffolds.
  2. Top-down and bottom-up TE scaffold-based strategies.
  3. Dynamic cell seeding of TE scaffolds (in vitro and in silico approaches).
  4. Bioengineering strategies to promote vascularization within tissue-engineered scaffolds.
  5. Scaffolds for specific (orthopaedic, heart or nerve, etc.) TE applications.
  6. Scaffolds for controlled and localized drug and biomolecule delivery.

We look forward to receiving your contributions for this Special Issue.

Dr. Chara Simitzi
Prof. Dr. Richard M. Day
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tissue engineering
  • scaffolds
  • cell delivery
  • dynamic cell seeding
  • drug/biomolecule delivery
  • biofabrication

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 6311 KiB  
Article
Development and Optimisation of Hydrogel Scaffolds for Microvascular Network Formation
by Carla V. Fuenteslópez, Mark S. Thompson and Hua Ye
Bioengineering 2023, 10(8), 964; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10080964 - 15 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 993
Abstract
Traumatic injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, there is limited research on microvascular traumatic injuries. To address this gap, this research aims to develop and optimise an in vitro construct for traumatic injury research at the microvascular level. [...] Read more.
Traumatic injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, there is limited research on microvascular traumatic injuries. To address this gap, this research aims to develop and optimise an in vitro construct for traumatic injury research at the microvascular level. Tissue engineering constructs were created using a range of polymers (collagen, fibrin, and gelatine), solvents (PBS, serum-free endothelial media, and MES/NaCl buffer), and concentrations (1–5% w/v). Constructs created from these hydrogels and HUVECs were evaluated to identify the optimal composition in terms of cell proliferation, adhesion, migration rate, viability, hydrogel consistency and shape retention, and tube formation. Gelatine hydrogels were associated with a lower cell adhesion, whereas fibrin and collagen ones displayed similar or better results than the control, and collagen hydrogels exhibited poor shape retention; fibrin scaffolds, particularly at high concentrations, displayed good hydrogel consistency. Based on the multipronged evaluation, fibrin hydrogels in serum-free media at 3 and 5% w/v were selected for further experimental work and enabled the formation of interconnected capillary-like networks. The networks formed in both hydrogels displayed a similar architecture in terms of the number of segments (10.3 ± 3.21 vs. 9.6 ± 3.51) and diameter (8.6446 ± 3.0792 μm vs. 7.8599 ± 2.3794 μm). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications)
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23 pages, 5634 KiB  
Article
Cell-Laden Marine Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels Enriched with Ascorbic Acid for Corneal Stroma Regeneration
by Ana L. Alves, Ana C. Carvalho, Inês Machado, Gabriela S. Diogo, Emanuel M. Fernandes, Vânia I. B. Castro, Ricardo A. Pires, José A. Vázquez, Ricardo I. Pérez-Martín, Miguel Alaminos, Rui L. Reis and Tiago H. Silva
Bioengineering 2023, 10(1), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10010062 - 04 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2317
Abstract
Corneal pathologies from infectious or noninfectious origin have a significant impact on the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. Despite the risk of organ rejection or infection, corneal transplantation is currently the only effective treatment. Finding safe and innovative strategies is the [...] Read more.
Corneal pathologies from infectious or noninfectious origin have a significant impact on the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. Despite the risk of organ rejection or infection, corneal transplantation is currently the only effective treatment. Finding safe and innovative strategies is the main goal of tissue-engineering-based approaches. In this study, the potential of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels produced from marine-derived gelatin and loaded with ascorbic acid (as an enhancer of the biological activity of cells) was evaluated for corneal stromal applications. Marine GelMA was synthesized with a methacrylation degree of 75%, enabling effective photocrosslinking, and hydrogels with or without ascorbic acid were produced, encompassing human keratocytes. All the produced formulations exhibited excellent optical and swelling properties with easy handling as well as structural stability and adequate degradation rates that may allow proper extracellular matrix remodeling by corneal stromal cells. Formulations loaded with 0.5 mg/mL of ascorbic acid enhanced the biological performance of keratocytes and induced collagen production. These results suggest that, in addition to marine-derived gelatin being suitable for the synthesis of GelMA, the hydrogels produced are promising biomaterials for corneal regeneration applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications)
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Review

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33 pages, 7813 KiB  
Review
Microfluidic Systems for Neural Cell Studies
by Eleftheria Babaliari, Anthi Ranella and Emmanuel Stratakis
Bioengineering 2023, 10(8), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10080902 - 30 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1727
Abstract
Whereas the axons of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) spontaneously regenerate after an injury, the occurring regeneration is rarely successful because axons are usually directed by inappropriate cues. Therefore, finding successful ways to guide neurite outgrowth, in vitro, is essential for neurogenesis. [...] Read more.
Whereas the axons of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) spontaneously regenerate after an injury, the occurring regeneration is rarely successful because axons are usually directed by inappropriate cues. Therefore, finding successful ways to guide neurite outgrowth, in vitro, is essential for neurogenesis. Microfluidic systems reflect more appropriately the in vivo environment of cells in tissues such as the normal fluid flow within the body, consistent nutrient delivery, effective waste removal, and mechanical stimulation due to fluid shear forces. At the same time, it has been well reported that topography affects neuronal outgrowth, orientation, and differentiation. In this review, we demonstrate how topography and microfluidic flow affect neuronal behavior, either separately or in synergy, and highlight the efficacy of microfluidic systems in promoting neuronal outgrowth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications)
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