Enables advanced tissue regeneration approaches via expertise from the fields of materials science and biology Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering comprehensively reviews the use of stimuli-responsive materials in the context of advanced tissue engineering approaches, highlighting applications, challenges, and solutions and reporting on the current state of the art of smart and multifunctional materials being used for tissue engineering, focusing on material types and their properties. The progress that has already been achieved in the field is put into perspective by covering the remaining challenges in the research field of tissue engineering, and solutions are outlined to overcome those. By addressing challenges and ways to overcome them, Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering is a highly practical resource on advanced tissue regeneration. Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering contains information on: Smart and multifunctional materials for tissue engineering, covering electroactive and magnetoactive materials Shape memory, photo-responsive, and controlled degradation of stimuli-responsive materials Tissue regeneration strategies based on smart and active biomaterials, covering bone, heart, and neural tissue regeneration Main applications where these biomaterials can be applied, such as in bone, muscle, and skin regeneration Other potential areas where the covered biomaterials are expected to make a major impact in the next decade With comprehensive coverage of the subject, Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering is an essential resource for materials scientists, bioengineers, engineering scientists, and biotechnologists seeking to understand advanced tissue regeneration approaches, current challenges, and potential solutions to advance progress in the field.

Enables advanced tissue regeneration approaches via expertise from the fields of materials science and biology Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering comprehensively reviews the use of stimuli-responsive materials in the context of advanced tissue engineering approaches, highlighting applications, challenges, and solutions and reporting on the current state of the art of smart and multifunctional materials being used for tissue engineering, focusing on material types and their properties. The progress that has already been achieved in the field is put into perspective by covering the remaining challenges in the research field of tissue engineering, and solutions are outlined to overcome those. By addressing challenges and ways to overcome them, Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering is a highly practical resource on advanced tissue regeneration. Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering contains information on: Smart and multifunctional materials for tissue engineering, covering electroactive and magnetoactive materials Shape memory, photo-responsive, and controlled degradation of stimuli-responsive materials Tissue regeneration strategies based on smart and active biomaterials, covering bone, heart, and neural tissue regeneration Main applications where these biomaterials can be applied, such as in bone, muscle, and skin regeneration Other potential areas where the covered biomaterials are expected to make a major impact in the next decade With comprehensive coverage of the subject, Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Tissue Engineering is an essential resource for materials scientists, bioengineers, engineering scientists, and biotechnologists seeking to understand advanced tissue regeneration approaches, current challenges, and potential solutions to advance progress in the field.

This book reviews the current knowledge on tunable hydrogels, including the range of different materials and applications, as well as the existing challenges and limitations in the field. It covers various aspects of the material design, particularly highlighting biological responsiveness, degradability and responsiveness to external stimuli. In this book, readers will discover original research data and state-of-the-art reviews in the area of hydrogel technology, with a specific focus on biotechnology and medicine. Written by leading experts, the contributions outline strategies for designing tunable hydrogels and offer a detailed evaluation of the physical and synthetic methods currently employed to achieve specific hydrogel properties and responsiveness. This highly informative book provides important theoretical and practical insights for scholars and researchers working with hydrogels for biomedical and biotechnological applications.

Hydrogels, as three-dimensional polymer networks, are able to retain a large amount of water in their swollen state. The biomedical application of hydrogels was initially hampered by the toxicity of cross-linking agents and the limitations of hydrogel formation under physiological conditions. However, emerging knowledge in polymer chemistry and an increased understanding of biological processes have resulted in the design of versatile materials and minimally invasive therapies.The novel but challenging properties of hydrogels are attracting the attention of researchers in the biological, medical, and pharmaceutical fields. In the last few years, new methods have been developed for the preparation of hydrophilic polymers and hydrogels, which may be used in future biomedical and drug delivery applications. Such efforts include the synthesis of self-organized nanostructures based on triblock copolymers with applications in controlled drug delivery. These hydrogels could be used as carriers for drug delivery when combined with the techniques of drug imprinting and subsequent release. Engineered protein hydrogels have many potential advantages. They are excellent biomaterials and biodegradables. Furthermore, they could encapsulate drugs and be used in injectable forms to replace surgery, to repair damaged cartilage, in regenerative medicine, or in tissue engineering. Also, they have potential applications in gene therapy, although this field is relatively new.

With its content taken from only the very latest results, this is an extensive summary of the various polymeric materials used for biomedical applications. Following an introduction listing various functional polymers, including conductive, biocompatible and conjugated polymers, the book goes on to discuss different synthetic polymers that can be used, for example, as hydrogels, biochemical sensors, functional surfaces, and natural degradable materials. Throughout, the focus is on applications, with worked examples for training purposes as well as case studies included. The whole is rounded off with a look at future trends.

This book comprehensively explores the basic concepts and applications of biomaterials in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The book is divided into four sections; the first section deals with the basic concepts and different types of biomaterials used in tissue engineering. The second section discusses the functional requirements and types of materials that are used in developing state-of-the-art of scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. The third section presents the applications of biomaterials for hard and soft tissue engineering, as well as for specialized tissue engineering. The last section addresses the future prospects of nanobiomaterials, intelligent biomaterials, and 3D bioprinting biomaterials in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It also discusses various in vitro disease models for tissue bioengineering and regenerative medicine. As such, it offers a valuable resource for students, researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and medical/healthcare professionals.

This book focuses on a research field that is rapidly emerging as one of the most promising ones for the global optics and photonics community: the “lab-on-fiber” technology. Inspired by the well-established "lab on-a-chip" concept, this new technology essentially envisages novel and highly functionalized devices completely integrated into a single optical fiber for both communication and sensing applications. Based on the R&D experience of some of the world's leading authorities in the fields of optics, photonics, nanotechnology, and material science, this book provides a broad and accurate description of the main developments and achievements in the lab-on-fiber technology roadmap, also highlighting the new perspectives and challenges to be faced. This book is essential for scientists interested in the cutting-edge fiber optic technology, but also for graduate students.