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

Characterisation and Design of Tissue Scaffolds offers scientists a useful guide on the characterization of tissue scaffolds, detailing what needs to be measured and why, how such measurements can be made, and addressing industrially important issues. Part one provides readers with information on the fundamental considerations in the characterization of tissue scaffolds, while other sections detail how to prepare tissue scaffolds, discuss techniques in characterization, and present practical considerations for manufacturers. Summarizes concepts and current practice in the characterization and design of tissue scaffolds Discusses design and preparation of scaffolds Details how to prepare tissue scaffolds, discusses techniques in characterization, and presents practical considerations for manufacturers

The field of Tissue Engineering has developed in response to the shortcomings associated to the replacement of tissues lost to disease or trauma: donor tissue rejection, chronic inflammation, and donor tissue shortages. The driving force behind Tissue Engineering is to avoid these problems by creating biological substitutes capable of replacing the damaged tissue. This is done by combining scaffolds, cells and signals in order to create living, physiological, three-dimensional tissues. Scaffolds are porous biodegradable structures that are meant to be colonized by cells and degrade in time with tissue generation. Scaffold design and development is mainly an engineering challenge, and is the goal of this thesis. The main aim of this thesis is to develop and characterize scaffolds for Tissue Engineering applications. Specifically, its objectives are: Ø To study scaffold processing method: Phase Separation. This is done by experiment design analysis. Ø To characterize the behavior of the scaffolds produced. The scaffolds are prepared using a biodegradable polymer polycaprolactone by thermally induced phase separation technique using solid-liquid phase separation. The porosity, crystallinity and pore size was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), Mercury porosimeter, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The parameters that found to influence the architecture of the scaffolds were freezing temperature, freezing medium and polymer concentration. The freezing temperature was found to have a profound effect on the pore size and final morphology of the porous structures. The degree of crystallinity determined using XRD was comparable with that of the as received PCL. The porosity of the structures was found to be 90-97%. The porosity of the PCL structures can be controlled by the concentration of the polymer solution used. Micrographs of the samples from the SEM revealed that the pore size was smaller when the polymer soluti.

Design, Characterization and Fabrication of Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering covers core elements of scaffold design, from properties and characterization of polymeric scaffolds to fabrication techniques and the structure-property relationship. Particular attention is given to the cell-scaffold interaction at the molecular level, helping the reader understand and adapt scaffold design to improve biocompatibility and function. The book goes on to discuss a range of tissue engineering applications for polymeric scaffolds, including bone, nerve, cardiac and fibroblast tissue engineering. Design, Characterization and Fabrication of Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering is an important, interdisciplinary work of relevance to materials scientists, polymer scientists, biomedical engineers and those working regenerative medicine. Helps the reader determine the most appropriate polymer for scaffold design by characterization, properties and structure-property relationship Discusses material-cell interactions at the molecular level, aiding in determining suitability Covers core elements of scaffold design, including fabrication techniques