Tissue Scaffolds and Rapid Prototyping

The two most plausible competing technologies for the tissue engineered growth of functional, complex organs from a patient's own cells are (a) decellularization of an existing organ to obtain its extracellular matrix scaffold, and (b) rapid prototyping of a new scaffold. From ScienceDaily: "Scaffold structures for tissue engineering that allow researchers to grow cells, whether skin, muscle, or even kidney, in a three-dimensional could allow medical science to create natural artificial organs. Such scaffolds are increasingly important for the future direction of regenerative medicine. However, conventional techniques have several limitations. In particular, current scaffold construction lacks full control of the often microscopic pores and their architecture. Tissue engineering usually involves cellular implantation. Cells might be derived from the patient or a donor. They are combined in the laboratory with a degradable scaffold that can then be implanted to replace damaged tissues. The presence of the structure scaffold also triggers the body to rebuild damaged tissue. ... researchers suggest that rapid prototyping overcomes many of the limitations of conventional scaffold techniques, such as stereolithography, which etches a block of material into shape. Rapid prototyping might one day allow kidney, liver and muscle tissues to be constructed in the laboratory from a patient's own cells with close-to-natural detail ready for transplantation."

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618085752.htm

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