Focusing on bone biology, Bone Tissue Engineering integrates basic sciences with tissue engineering. It includes contributions from world-renowned researchers and clinicians who discuss key topics such as different models and approaches to bone tissue engineering, as well as exciting clinical applications for patients. Divided into four sections, t

This book provides a perspective on the current status of bioimaging technologies developed to assess the quality of musculoskeletal tissue with an emphasis on bone and cartilage. It offers evaluations of scaffold biomaterials developed for enhancing the repair of musculoskeletal tissues. These bioimaging techniques include micro-CT, nano-CT, pQCT/QCT, MRI, and ultrasound.

In joint replacement surgery with suboptimal bone, allograft materials are often used to achieve biological fixation of the metallic implant to the host bone and reducing the implant fixation time. The most commonly used techniques are cemented and hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated metallic implants. Typically, HA coatings are suggested for patients with better bone stock, whereas recommended implant fixation process for most other osteoporotic patients is bone cements. In general, there is a long-standing need to improve the performance of hip and other devices for longer in vivo implant lifetime that can help in reducing the number of revision surgeries, as well as minimizing physical and mental trauma to the patient. To achieve these goals, it is important to understand the mechanical and biological properties of coatings that can influence not only its short- and long-term bioactivity but also life span in vivo. Over the years, it has been recognized that the stability of a coated implant is governed by its physical and mechanical properties. A coating that separates from the implant provides no advantage over an uncoated implant and undesirable due to problems with debris materials, which can lead to osteolysis. Therefore, it is important to properly characterize the coated implants in terms of its physical and mechanical properties. In this chapter, specific details on coating characterization techniques including sample dimensions, sample preparation, experimental procedure and data interpretation are discussed. In particular, the standards and requirements of regulatory organizations are presented elucidating the significance and use of each characterization. It is important to appreciate that mechanical properties of coatings can only be determined with certain coating specification such as coating thickness. This chapter is designed even for non-experts to follow mechanical property characterizations of coatings on medical implants.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of smart biomaterials and their potential applications, a field that is developing at a very rapid pace. Because smart biomaterials are an emerging class of biomaterials that respond to small changes in external stimuli with large discontinuous changes in their physical properties, they have been designed to act as an “on–off” switch for, among others, bio separation, immunoanalysis, drug delivery technologies, gene therapy, diagnostics, bio sensors and artificial muscles. After an introduction to the topic and the history of smart biomaterials, the author gives the reader an in-depth look at the properties, mechanics, and characterization of smart biomaterials including hydrogels, particles, assemblies, surfaces, fibers and conjugates. Information on the wide range of applications for these materials follows, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, diagnostics, biosensors, bio separation and actuators. In addition, recent advances in shape memory biomaterials as active components of medical devices are also presented.

Organ regeneration, once unknown in adult mammals, is at the threshold of maturity as a clinical method for restoration of organ function in humans. Several laboratories around the world are engaged in the development of new tools such as stem cells and biologically active scaffolds. Others are taking fresh looks at well-known clinical problems of replacement of a large variety of organs: Bone, skin, the spinal cord, peripheral nerves, articular cartilage, the conjunctiva, heart valves and urologic organs. Still other investigators are working out the mechanistic pathways of regeneration and the theoretical implications of growing back organs in an adult. The time has come to present a collection of these efforts from leading practitioners in the field of organ regeneration.

Tissue engineering has been recognized as offering an alternative technique to whole-organ and tissue transplantation for diseased, failed, or malfunctioned organs. To reconstruct a new tissue via tissue engineering, the following triad components are needed: (1) cells which are harvested and dissociated from the donor tissue; (2) biomaterials as scaffold substrates in which cells are attached and cultured, resulting in implantation at the desired site of the functioning tissue; and (3) growth factors which promote and/or prevent cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Of these three key components, scaffolds play a critical role in tissue engineering. This timely book focuses on the preparation and characterization of scaffold biomaterials for the application of tissue-engineered scaffolds. More importantly, it serves as an experimental guidebook on the standardization of the fabrication process and characterization of scaffolding technology.

Frontiers in Tissue Engineering is a carefully edited compilation of state-of-the-art contributions from an international authorship of experts in the diverse subjects that make up tissue engineering. A broad representation of the medical, scientific, industrial and regulatory community is detailed in the book. The work is an authoritative and comprehensive reference source for scientists and clinicians working in this emerging field. The book is divided into three parts: fundamentals and methods of tissue engineering, tissue engineering applied to specialised tissues, and tissue engineering applied to organs. The text offers many novel approaches, including a detailed coverage of cell-tissue interactions at cellular and molecular levels; cell-tissue surface, biochemical, and mechanical environments; biomaterials; engineering design; tissue-organ function; new approaches to tissue-organ regeneration and replacement of function; ethical considerations of tissue engineering; and government regulation of tissue-engineered products.