Design parameters of polymers for tissue engineering applications

The loss or failure of an organ or tissue can occur because of accident or disease, for which tissue or organ transplantation is a generally accepted treatment. However, this approach is extremely limited due to donor shortage. Tissue engineering is a new and exciting strategy, in which patients who need a new organ or tissue are supplied with a synthetic organ or tissue. In this approach, tissues are engineered using a combination of the patient’s own cells and a polymer scaffold. The polymer scaffold potentially mimics many roles of extracellular matrices in the body. Various polymers have been studied and utilized to date in tissue engineering approaches. However, no single polymer has been considered ideal for all types of tissues and approaches. This paper discusses the design parameters of those polymers potentially useful in tissue regeneration.