Review on Bioinspired Design of ECM-Mimicking Scaffolds by Computer-Aided Assembly of Cell-Free and Cell Laden Micro-Modules

• Published in: Journal of functional biomaterials Vol. 14; no. 2; p. 101
• Main Authors: Salerno, Aurelio, Netti, Paolo Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Adhesives; Adsorption; Architecture; Assembly; Automation; Biomechanics; Biomimetics; Biosynthesis; CAD; CAD scaffold; CAD-CAM systems; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell fate; Collagen; Computer aided design; Computer programs; Contact angle; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drugs; Extracellular matrix; Fabrication; Growth factors; Kinases; Manufacturing; Manufacturing industry; micro-modules; Mimicry; modular tissue engineering; Modular units; Modules; Morphogenesis; Pattern formation; Polyethylene; Proteins; Review; Robotics; Scaffolds; Stem cells; Tissue engineering; tissue spheroids; Topography; Vehicles; Viscoelasticity; micro-modules; CAD scaffold; tissue spheroids; modular tissue engineering
• ISSN: 2079-4983; 2079-4983
• DOI: 10.3390/jfb14020101

Tissue engineering needs bioactive drug delivery scaffolds capable of guiding cell biosynthesis and tissue morphogenesis in three dimensions. Several strategies have been developed to design and fabricate ECM-mimicking scaffolds suitable for directing in vitro cell/scaffold interaction, and controlling tissue morphogenesis in vivo. Among these strategies, emerging computer aided design and manufacturing processes, such as modular tissue unit patterning, promise to provide unprecedented control over the generation of biologically and biomechanically competent tissue analogues. This review discusses recent studies and highlights the role of scaffold microstructural properties and their drug release capability in cell fate control and tissue morphogenesis. Furthermore, the work highlights recent advances in the bottom-up fabrication of porous scaffolds and hybrid constructs through the computer-aided assembly of cell-free and/or cell-laden micro-modules. The advantages, current limitations, and future challenges of these strategies are described and discussed.