ABSTRACT

Tissue engineering is a recent emerging field for repair and regeneration of damaged organs and tissues. So far, various tools and methods have been developed to prepare optimal biomaterials, which can serve as scaffolds for tissue engineering. Engineering scaffolds is crucial to create a functional unit of the organ. Scaffolds 938play important roles as a microenvironment that provides not only a desirable mechanical support but also chemical interactions (extracellular matrix [ECM]) for cell growth and tissue regeneration. Cellular behaviors (e.g., cell migration, adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation) are regulated by a resultant effect of various stimuli derived from the “cell instructive” scaffolds. 1 Ideal scaffolds for tissue engineering should provide these biophysical and biochemical cues to recapitulate in vivo cellular behaviors. Therefore, it is important to design the biomimetic scaffolds by considering the fundamental aspects of the native microenvironment of tissue.