Urologic tissue engineering in pediatrics: from nanostructures to bladders

The use of tissue engineering to develop new urinary bladder could have direct impact on children suffering from congenital bladder dysfunction. Current bladder tissue engineering protocols rely on scaffolds to support the ingrowth of new cells and the subsequent development of new tissues. The interaction between cells and scaffolds is mediated on the molecular level and nanotechnology is being investigated as a means to improve the biocompatibility of these scaffolds. In this review, we will discuss the current applications of nanotechnology for bladder tissue engineering; specifically, the use of selective degradation techniques and self-assembly molecules to create nanofeatures on existing scaffolds, the use of electrospinning to create de novo scaffolds, and the use of nanoparticles as a drug delivery system will be discussed. The use of nanotechnology has resulted in novel tissue engineering protocols and is likely to be an important factor in the eventual clinical application of tissue engineering for the urinary bladder.