Biomaterials for Organ and Tissue Regeneration

New Technologies and Future Prospects

Nihal Vrana,Helena Knopf-Marques,Julien Barthes

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780081029077
• Topic: Tecnologia e ingegneria
• Subtopic: Scienza dei materiali

Biomaterials for Organ and Tissue Regeneration: New Technologies and Future Prospects examines the use of biomaterials in applications related to artificial tissues and organs. With a strong focus on fundamental and traditional tissue engineering strategies, the book also examines how emerging and enabling technologies are being developed and applied. Sections provide essential information on biomaterial, cell properties and cell types used in organ generation. A section on state-of-the-art in organ regeneration for clinical purposes is followed by a discussion on enabling technologies, such as bioprinting, on chip organ systems and in silico simulations.

• Provides a systematic overview of the field, from fundamentals, to current challenges and opportunities
• Encompasses the classic paradigm of tissue engineering for creation of new functional tissue
• Discusses enabling technologies such as bioprinting, organ-on-chip systems and in silico simulations

Section 1

Properties and forms of biomaterials

Outline

• 1 Introduction to biomaterials for tissue/organ regeneration
• 2 Physicochemical properties of biomaterials
• 3 Polymer-based composites for musculoskeletal regenerative medicine
• 4 Emerging biotechnological approaches with respect to tissue regeneration: from improving biomaterial incorporation to comprehensive omics monitoring
• 5 Use of nanoscale-delivery systems in tissue/organ regeneration
• 6 Surface functionalization of biomaterials for cell biology applications
• 7 Stem cells: sources, properties, and cell types
• 8 Immune cells: sources, properties, and cell types
• 9 Cell signaling and strategies to modulate cell behavior

1

Introduction to biomaterials for tissue/organ regeneration

Nihal Engin Vrana^1,2, ¹SPARTHA Medical, Strasbourg, France, ²INSERM UMR 1121, Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Biomaterials is a fast-growing and expanding field of research, partially due to its multidisciplinary and application-oriented nature, which enables it to benefit fully from the advances in the other areas of science. This introductory chapter aims at highlighting some recent developments in biomaterials for providing the reader with a better overview of the current state-of-the-art and future trends while setting the stage for more detailed description of the different facets of biomaterials in the subsequent chapters. The highlighted areas are (1) new biomaterial development and discovery, materiomics, (2) new technologies enabled by the advances in biomaterials such as biorobotics, hybrid advanced biosystems, and (3) evaluation of new biomaterials: advanced, personalized risk assessment, biomaterial testing–related instrumentation, and advanced on-chip models. Finally, the increasing role of simulation, models, and big data approaches in biomaterials field will be briefly covered.

Keywords

Biomaterial risk assessment; material discovery; on-chip models; advanced biosystems

1.1 Introduction

As any broad and end point–related term, “Biomaterials” is hard to define as it encompasses a large group of materials with little similarity in their physicochemical properties. This stems from the historical fact that the conventional definition of “Biomaterials” refers not to their inherent properties but more to their intended use. In other words, “Biomaterials” as a term is generally used for any kind of material which is in contact with a biological entity in an intended way of interaction. If we narrow this definition even further (as its understanding was narrower in the beginning), one of the most common early uses was the replacement of a physiological function in human body as a therapeutic solution (i.e., the biomedical applications of biomaterials). This is generally done in the form of implants or implantable medical devices in a broader sense. These devices can be as simple as a stent to keep a vessel open or a dental implant to replace the mechanical function of teeth, which are made of one or few biomaterials. But in many cases, these devices are complex equipment such as pacemakers to keep an organ continue its function, which has many components and made of different materials [in some cases, some of them might be even toxic and need to be isolated from the rest of the body if they are crucial for the function of the overall system (such as batteries or sensor components, e.g.)].

But regardless of the complexity of the device, in the case of the replacement of a single function (such as load bearing, tissue filling, and signal transmission), the interface between the medical device and the host tissue is very well defined. The primary function is generally limited to one interaction (keeping the lumen open for the stents and sending the necessary electrical signals for the control of the beating of the heart for the pacemakers, e.g.) and any other interaction is considered detrimental. This has led to an initial preference for bioinertness where the inherent properties of the bioinert biomaterials evade any unwanted secondary interactions with the body, such as inflammation or blood coagulation. This approach kept the interaction of the medical device with the body in the predefined conditions while putting a limit to undesirable secondary effects. However, now the biomaterial field has matured as such approaches have proven to be useful and successful; they have become common tools in healthcare. Now, there are several implantable devices such as knee implants, breast implants, and cochlear implants that are implanted in the ranges of several hundred thousand to millions each year. As a result, the ambitions had surpassed the initial goals where the aim moved from just supporting or helping a tissue/organ to completely replacing them. Maybe in the near future, designing nonexistent tissues/organs with capabilities surpassing the natural tissues will also be possible. Thus the bioinert approach to biomaterials stopped to be relevant. Today, the researchers in the biomaterial field design structures that can interact with the host tissues or external stimuli in a complex manner with a point of view of full integration. For example, recently it has been shown that by using a bilayer skin substitute containing cellular components, a prohealing response and keratinocyte activation can be obtained in the clinical case of chronic venous ulcers [1]. However, for the time point, this ambition has proven to be more difficult than the initial optimism and enthusiasm suggested [2] as the number of available, functional tissue-engineering solutions are limited to skin, cartilage, and some of the hollow organs such as bladder. Thus there is still room for improvement and innovation for biomaterials that can direct and facilitate the regeneration and/or replacement of more complex organs.

The motivation for this book was to put together the different aspects of biomaterial-related technologies developed for tissue/organ regeneration while providing a strong basis for understanding biomaterial properties and uses. The requirements and functions of each tissue necessitate the use of specific kind of biomaterials in specific forms and properties. Beyond the tissue-related design constraints, the biomaterial researchers also need to design their systems for more general requirements such as anti-immunogenicity, blood compatibility, and controllable resistance to the degradation and failure due to the contact with body fluids. While the rest of the book takes a more historical approach and aims at fundamental understanding pertaining to either biomaterial properties or their applications, this chapter turns its attention more on the very recent developments to provide the reader with an overview of the current activities in the field.

1.2 Many facets of new biomaterials: new naturally sourced biomaterials, new synthetic biomaterials, materiomics, metabiomaterials

In the early days of biomaterials, whenever the need for interaction with the cells and tissues was a priority, the most commonly used materials where natural biomaterials sourced from animals, plants, and bacteria. Some of these materials were attractive as they were readily available (such as cellulose or alginate) or have biological properties that are necessary for a specific application (such as the promotion of cell adhesion by collagen/gelatin or inherent antimicrobial properties of chitin/chitosan). Today, the greatest source of new materials remains to be the nature. The oven of evolution has churned myriads of materials with very interesting properties and some of them still are waiting to be found. These materials are not only limited to the primary materials as mentioned before but also include enzymes that can cross-link biomaterials in a highly efficacious manner or degrade them in a specific way that can enable controlled delivery or 4D remodeling. Meanwhile, with the advents in genetic engineering, the ability to produce polypeptides recombinantly, advances in supramolecular chemistry and click chemistry have opened the door for designed, naturally sourced biomaterials which not only harness the intrinsic properties of natural biomaterials but also can add to these properties by linking different domains with known functions in the same polypeptide chain (or as pendant groups) or creating hybrid materials, in a similar manner to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which demonstrate the relevant properties of proteins, lipids, and sugars in a design-specific manner. One recent example of such systems is glyconucleolipid...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgment
• Section 1: Properties and forms of biomaterials
• Section 2: Biomaterials use in organ specific applications
• Section 3: Emerging and enabling technologies for biomaterials in tissue regeneration
• Index