ABSTRACT
Polymer supports have received much attention as a microenvironment for cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The three-dimensional scaffold structure provides support for high level of tissue organization and remodeling. Regeneration of different tissues, such as bone [1], cartilage [2], skin [3], nerves [4], or blood vessels [5], is investigated using such constructs. An ideal polymer scaffold should thus mimic the living tissue, that is, possess high water content, with the possibility to incorporate bioactive molecules allowing a better control of cell differentiation. At the same time, it requires a range of properties including biocompatibility and/or biodegradability, highly porous structure with communicating pores allowing high cell adhesion and tissue in-growth. The material should be sterilizable and also possess good mechanical strength. Both natural and synthetic hydrogels are being developed. The advantage of synthetic polymer matrices consists in their easy proccessability, tunable physical and chemical properties, susceptibility to modifications, and possibly controlled degradation.
