Nano to the meso scale: influence on cell transplantation

The success of organ transplantation is one of medicine's finest accomplishments. Ironically, this same success has led to a dilemma in that there are simply too few donor organs available to treat the millions of patients that would benefit from their procurement and transplantation. The answer(s) to this shortage will likely come from transplanting specific cells, i.e., cell transplantation, tailored to replace equally specific functions normally served by damaged tissues or organs. To facilitate successful clinical outcomes, technologies derived from areas such as nanoscience will play a more prominent role and will be discussed in this review.