Colloid-matrix assemblies in regenerative medicine

The development of tissue engineering scaffolds has focused on mimicking the natural biochemical and biophysical environment of the extracellular matrix (ECM). In this review, we describe a variety of strategies aimed at reproducing and also simplifying the ECM. Despite the progress that has been ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in colloid & interface science 2013-10, Vol.18 (5), p.393-405
Main Authors: Clarke, Kimberly C., Douglas, Alison M., Brown, Ashley C., Barker, Thomas H., Lyon, L. Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Colloids
Complexity
Composites
Electrochemical machining
Extracellular matrix
Fibrin
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health. Pharmaceutical industry
Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects
Miscellaneous
Polymers
Regenerative medicine
Scaffolds
Strategy
Tissue engineering
Utilities
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Summary:The development of tissue engineering scaffolds has focused on mimicking the natural biochemical and biophysical environment of the extracellular matrix (ECM). In this review, we describe a variety of strategies aimed at reproducing and also simplifying the ECM. Despite the progress that has been made, the degree of complexity that needs to be incorporated into these scaffolds is still not known. We begin by describing the ECM and its biological functions followed by outlining current efforts to engineer ECMs with both natural and synthetic polymers. We then focus on colloidal particles as potential artificial ECM components that could increase the complexity as modular building blocks. Drawing from examples from the literature we present the broad utility of colloids and describe how these applications could be useful in the development of ECM mimetic systems. [Display omitted] •The structural, compositional and functional features of the extracellular matrix are presented.•Recent efforts at recapitulating some or all of these features are discussed.•Colloids offer routes to introduce new properties and functions into materials.•We discuss the wide range of opportunities for colloids as functional modifiers of extracellular matrix components.
ISSN:1359-0294
1879-0399
DOI:10.1016/j.cocis.2013.07.004