TABLE OF CONTENTS Tissue engineering is a rapidly developing application of biomaterials that aims to create semi-synthetic body parts as alternatives to the use of donor organs.1 The approach is characterised in that both artificial and natural biological materials are used, and the finished item is designed as a three-dimensional replacement for the appropriate body part. In reality, tissue engineering is a major field in its own right, and lies beyond the scope of this book. This chapter aims to provide a brief overview and readers are encouraged to consult the bibliography at the end of the chapter, as well as the individual references, for a fuller account.
Typically tissue engineering involves an initial phase in which the device is developed by allowing cultured cells to grow in vitro onto and/or into a so-called scaffold which is usually made from a synthetic material, such as a polymer or a ceramic.2 This allows the cells to proliferate freely, often aided by biological mediators such as growth factors. When this phase is complete, the entire device is implanted into or grafted onto the patient s body.
Tissue engineering has been driven by the needs of patients for substitute body parts, and this has been enhanced by the absence of sufficient numbers of fully natural tissues and organs for transplantation. It has been estimated that there is only one donor available for each patient in need of a transplanted organ.3 Given this statistic, the potential for the emerging tissue engineering...
