ABSTRACT
I. What is Tissue Engineering? ............................................................................................ 45
A. Factors Necessary for Tissue Engineering ............................................................... 45
B. Biodegradable Materials for Tissue Engineering .................................................... 46
II. Tissue Engineering Technology to Induce Tissue Regeneration .................................... 48
A. Role of Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering ............................................................ 48
III. Controlled Release of Growth Factor from Biodegradable Hydrogel ............................ 49
A. Concept of Growth Factor Release .......................................................................... 49
B. Characterization of Gelatin and Gelatin Hydrogel .................................................. 50
IV. Tissue Regeneration by Gelatin Hydrogels Incorporating Growth Factor ...................... 51
A. Angiogenesis ............................................................................................................. 51
B. Bone Regeneration ................................................................................................... 55
C. Adipogenesis ............................................................................................................. 56
V. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................................ 57
References ..................................................................................................................................... 57
When the body tissue or organ is severely injured, largely lost or dysfunctional, it is clinically
treated with either reconstructive surgery or organ transplantation. There is no doubt that
reconstructive surgery has saved or improved countless patients’ lives. However, the biomedical
materials or devices used can neither prevent progressive patient deterioration nor substitute all
organ functions. One of the largest problems for organ transplantation is the shortage of donor
tissues or organs. Additionally, the permanent medication of immunosuppressive agents causes
various side-effects, such as viral infections and carcinogenesis. Because of these issues, a
therapeutic trial to induce the regeneration of patients’ tissues and organs by making use of their
own self-healing potential has been initiated. Tissue engineering, a research and development field
of biomedical engineering and technology, has been used in this new therapeutic trial. The objective
of tissue engineering is to manipulate cells to induce tissue regeneration, therapeutically
substituting the biological functions of defective or lost tissues and damaged organs.
