ABSTRACT
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................. 715 27.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 716 27.2 Extracellular Matrix: The Basis for Functional and Structural “Bio-Inspiration” ............... 717 27.3 Designing Smart Biomaterials .............................................................................................. 718 27.4 Polyvalent Interactions in Biological System ....................................................................... 719 27.5 Biomaterial Functionalization Methods ............................................................................... 720 27.6 The Role of Ligand Distribution ........................................................................................... 723 27.7 Biomolecules for Biomaterial Design: Protein and Peptides ................................................724 27.8 Biomolecules for Biomaterial Design: Glycidic Structures .................................................. 726 27.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 728 References ...................................................................................................................................... 728
PEG polyethyleneglycol PLGA poly-l-glycolic acid PLLA poly-l-lactic acid RGD Arg-Gly-Asp SAM self-assembled monolayer SF silk broin TGF transforming growth factor VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor VN vitronectin WSC water-soluble carbodiimide
Recently, tissue engineering has attracted many scientists and surgeons with a hope to treat patients in a minimally invasive way (Vacanti and Langer 1999). Tissue engineering involves the isolation of specic cells through a small biopsy from a patient, their growth on a 3D biomimetic scaffold under precisely controlled culture conditions, the delivery of the construct to the desired site in the patient’s body, and the stimulation of new tissue formation into the scaffold that can be degraded over time (Lee and Mooney 2001). Tissue engineering also offers unique opportunities to investigate aspects of the structure-function relationship associated with new tissue formation in the laboratory and to predict the clinical outcome of the specic medical treatment. In order to achieve successful regeneration of damaged organs or tissues, several critical elements should be considered including biomaterial scaffolds that serve as a mechanical support for cell growth (Sakiyama-Elbert and Hubbel 2001, Shin et al. 2003, Langer and Tirrell 2004, Peppas and Langer 2004, Hubbell 1995, Lutolf and Hubbell 2005), progenitor cells that can be differentiated into specic cell types, and inductive growth factors that can modulate cellular activities (Putnam and Mooney 1996, Heath 2005). The biomaterial plays an important role in most tissue engineering strategies (Chaikof 2002, Grifth and Naughton 2002, Langer and Tirrell 2004). For example, biomaterials can serve as a substrate on which cell populations can attach and migrate, being implanted with a combination of specic cell types as a cell delivery vehicle, or utilized as a drug carrier to activate specic cellular function in the localized region.
