Osteoblasts and their applications in bone tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is an emerging therapy that offers a new solution to patients suffering from bone loss. It utilizes cells derived from such sources as a patient's own bone or bone marrow, which are laboratory-isolated, grown (so they multiply in number), and placed onto a degradable material, or scaffold, that has mechanical/chemical properties appropriate to the bone section that it is replacing. The cells plus the scaffold are then grown in a container, or bioreactor, which is necessary as it provides the correct environment required for the cells to proliferate, differentiate, and to produce extracellular matrix. The following review focuses on the use of osteoblasts for bone tissue engineering.