Microcarriers and their potential in tissue regeneration

Microcarriers are a versatile tool with applications across a wide range of disciplines within tissue engineering. Large numbers of cells of appropriate phenotypes are required in engineering the many different tissues of the body, and microcarriers facilitate not only the expansion of many cell types but also the investigation of cell behavior in vitro. Microcarriers can also be used to directly deliver cells in vivo to repair and regenerate tissues. This review summarizes and discusses the use of microcarriers in diverse applications of tissue repair, including bone, cartilage, skin, vascular, central nervous system, adipose tissue, and liver repair. It also considers how microcarriers can be used to bulk-culture and deliver stem cells for tissue regeneration. Microcarriers thus have multidisciplinary use and advances in their use are of benefit to the entire tissue engineering field.