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Matthias Schieker, Hermann Seitz, Inga Drosse, Sebastian Seitz, Wolf Mutschler |
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Almost 20 years after the invention of tissue engineering,
autogenous bone grafting has remained the favored
strategy for the treatment of bone defects. As an
alternative, a vast variety of bone substitutes has been
developed and is available for clinical use. The ongoing
search for bone substitutes, however, reflects the limitations
imposed to both autogenous and allogenous
bone grafts as well as to bone substitute materials.
The concept of tissue engineering holds great promise
for the future treatment of osseous defects. Research
in this interdisciplinary field is carried out to find a
way of producing biologic substitutes as functional
tissue replacement. For this, functionally active cells
are applied on supporting scaffolds under controlled
stimulation with growth factors. Scaffolds are temporary
matrices for bone growth and provide a specific
environment and architecture for tissue development.
Ideally, scaffolds favor cellular attachment, growth and
differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Especially ceramics
and biodegradable polymers are widely used and have
been tested in various animal studies. Yet, to allow for
precise production of specific custom-made scaffolds,
rapid prototyping (RP) techniques have recently drawn
a lot of attention. Using these methods scaffolds with a
predefined, well-controlled internal and external architecture
mimicking the structure of natural bone can be
generated. Although biocompatibility of the materials
used in the process and the structural resolution that
can be technically achieved so far limit the range of use,
rapid manufacturing techniques do offer great
opportunities to generate suitable scaffolds for bone
tissue engineering in the near future. |
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