Nondestructive monitoring of tissue-engineered constructs

Tissue engineering as a multidisciplinary field enables the development of living substitutes to replace, maintain, or restore diseased tissue and organs. Since the term was introduced in medicine in 1987, tissue engineering strategies have experienced significant progress. However, up to now, only a few substitutes were able to overcome the gap from bench to bedside and have been successfully approved for clinical use. Substantial donor variability makes it difficult to predict the quality of tissue-engineered constructs. It is essential to collect sufficient data to ensure that poor or immature constructs are not implanted into patients. The fulfillment of certain quality requirements, such as mechanical and structural properties, is crucial for a successful implantation. There is a clear need for new nondestructive and real-time online monitoring and evaluation methods for tissue-engineered constructs, which are applicable on the biomaterial, tissue, cellular, and subcellular levels. This paper reviews current established nondestructive techniques for implant monitoring including biochemical methods and noninvasive imaging.