ABSTRACT
Loss of organ functionality and tissue damage due to injury, aging, or disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability. Currently, only some major organs like the kidney, liver, heart, and a few others can be transplanted. Moreover, these transplants are associated with immune graft rejections. Patients are compelled to take immunosuppressive therapy, which has its own share of demerits. Tissue engineering will bring a paradigm shift in the current transplantation practices. It intends to provide implantable scaffolds which provide a suitable environment for in vivo tissue regeneration from patients’ own stem cells. These scaffolds are also suitable for the ex vivo development of whole tissue constructs suitable for implantation. This crossover of material science with biological science helps to achieve the desired goals of medical science. Most cellular structures have the basic building blocks of nano-dimensions. In order to effectively imitate the cellular structures, it is necessary 198to build them bottom-up from the nano-range. Nanotechnology utilizes materials of dimensions less than 1,000 nm and within that range material behavior becomes significantly different from the conventional behavior. Tissues develop from cells and the nano-dimensional architecture provides them with efficient blood flow, cell adhesion, nutrient uptake, and biochemical efficiency. Hence to achieve effective tissue regeneration, the utilization of nanotechnology becomes important. Nanoscaffolds are one of the most frequently applied platforms for bio-regeneration. In this chapter, we will provide insight into the various advancements of regenerative medicine, with a focus on nanoscience and nanotechnology, and discuss the future prospects in this area.
