Themed collection Editor’s Choice: Tissue Engineering

This Editor's collection introduces some scaffold-related reviews and research articles that have been recently published in Materials Horizons, Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Advances.

The graphic displays various biomaterial design functionalities along with the developed fabrication technologies to enhance the wound healing process in patients with chronic wounds.

This review focuses on the recent advances in polyphenol-based scaffolds including their structural and functional features, fabrication strategies, and various applications in tissue engineering.

Through additive manufacturing (AM) of natural biopolymers, significant progress has been made in the field of biomedical devices and bone tissue engineering of low load bearing applications like maxillofacial, bone defects, and dental.

Direct-writing of droplets onto fluid surfaces by inkjet printing to dial-in a required pattern, structure and function into a polymer film.

This work reports a novel approach to 3D-bioprint hierarchical cell-laden scaffolds with an unprecedented combination of porous and viscoelastic properties.

A fully high-throughput (HT) microfluidic platform for the generation of novel multi-material, multi-crosslinking 3D cell-laden gradients as screening libraries.

Collagen meshes with large or small openings were prepared after selective removal of PLGA mesh from PLGA–collagen composite mesh or collagen-coated PLGA mesh. The collagen meshes support human skin fibroblast adhesion and promote cell proliferation.

The microwave-assisted methacrylation of chitosan is studied. The control of the process parameters allows tuning the methacrylation degree and thus the hydrogel properties after photocuring. The resulting chitosan is 3D printable and biocompatible.

3D printing provides numerous opportunities for designing tissue engineering constructs with intricate porosity, geometry and favourable mechanical properties and has the potential to revolutionize medical treatments.

A first report on the fabrication of nanocomposite scaffolds containing nano-hydroxyapatite/carboxymethyl chitosan/β-cyclodextrin heterojunctions fused with date seed extract for bone tissue engineering applications.

An in situ fast-forming BMSC-laden Col-PEG/SF hydrogel with short gelation time, great biocompatibility and good mechanical properties was fabricated for cartilage regeneration.

An elastomeric scaffold containing poly(glycerol sebacate) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin was developed for soft tissue engineering.

The macrophage-dominated bone immune response plays an important role in osteogenesis of bone defects.

A dual-enzymatically cross-linked gelatin hydrogel is proposed to undergo direct neuronal differentiation of hUC-MSCs for promoting regeneration of spinal cord injury mice.

Composites based on ε-caprolactone-D,L-lactide-based elastomer with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are investigated to understand how matching cells with appropriate mechanical environments can provide important insights into fundamental cell behaviors.

Schematic of nerve guidance scaffold for reconstruction of peripheral nerve defects in Sprague-Dawley rats.

The neurite outgrowth was guided by biofunctional cues, such as Lam and GO, with nanofibre-mediated topographical cues, which upregulated the expression of some specific genes closely associated with cytoskeletal interactions.

A multifunctional Fe₃O₄ integrated polymer/phosphate glass composite scaffold is developed using a freeze drying technique for tissue engineering.

Graphene oxide is currently used in peripheral nerve engineering but has certain limitations, such as cytotoxicity and lack of electrical conductivity, both of which are crucial in regulating nerve-associated cell behaviors.

Facile preparation of nanofiber-reinforced bulk hydrogel, which is suitable as a biomaterial due to its improved mechanical and biological properties.

A novel methodology for the development of cell-laden silk hydrogels using a biocompatible photo-initiator.

Nanocomposite fibrin-based hydrogel with antibacterial and antibiofilm properties, safe for dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells.

The favourable properties of acrylate–gelatin–cHAP composites fabricated via copolymerization reaction may make possible porosity and hydrophilicity remodelling and thus promote scaffold-implant integration.

Herein, we present the synthesis of novel synthetic polypeptide-based interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogels with enhanced mechanical properties, and biocompatability.

A novel TPE-YY peptide hydrogelator self-assembled to form twisted nanobelts at neutral pH, upon cultured with 3A6 cells showed selective cell adhesion and growth.

A novel macroporous composite hydrogel scaffolds were developed by using Pickering emulsions stabilized by MgO NPs for application in the field of bone regeneration.

HBC-nanofiber hydrogel scaffolds with 3D printed internal microchannels have been developed to provide a multifunctional biomimetic microenvironment for hMSC chondrogenesis.

Bioprinting is an emerging powerful fabrication method, which enables the rapid assembly of 3D bioconstructs with dispensing cell-laden bioinks in pre-designed locations.

Surface grafting and encapsulation of SVVYGLR peptides in MCS promote vessel/bone formation all over the scaffold.

Magnetic lanthanum hydroxyapatite/chitosan scaffolds can better repair bone defects through stem cell recruitment and immunomodulation.