Alginate in Bone Tissue Engineering
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Date
2017-12
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ResearchGate
Abstract
Regenerative medicine has witnessed a paradigm shift from synthetic implants and tissue grafts to a bone tissue engineering (BTE) approach that incorporates biodegradable bioceramic composite scaffolds with biological cells. Polysaccharides, a biodegradable naturally occurring polymer can be useful either as carriers systems for active biomolecules or as cell carriers. It plays a crucial role to mimic the natural extra cellular matrix (ECM) for the development of 3D scaffold material in BTE and regenerative medicine. Alginate, a natural polysaccharide acts a biodegradable gel when cross-linked with calcium ions. Further, it encapsulates and immobilizes a variety of cells for immunoisolatory and biochemical processing applications. The bone-forming osteoblast cells can easily be attached to the alginate surface and therefore can proliferate well. Hence, alginate is widely utilized in BTE for its bioavailability, biodegradability, and ease of access.