Calcifying tissue regeneration via biomimetic materials chemistry

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Materials chemistry significantly impacts regenerative sciences, yet few replacements mimic tissue structure and function.
• Biomimetic approaches show promise in replicating mineralized tissues like bone, dentin, and enamel.
• Biomineralization knowledge guides the development of effective regenerative frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review successes of biomimetic materials chemistry in regenerative medicine.
• To explore advanced techniques like liquid crystals and self-organizing media for tissue regeneration.
• To highlight innovative directions in creating complex biomimetic inorganic structures.

Main Methods:

• Exploiting liquid crystals (LCs) and complex self-organizing media for regenerative framework construction.
• Investigating reaction-diffusion exchanges for building biomimetic inorganic structures.
• Analyzing naturally evolved biomineralization processes for biomimetic design.

Main Results:

• Biomimetic materials chemistry successfully replicates mineralized tissue morphologies and architectures.
• Coccolithophore simulants promote in vivo bone formation.
• Artificially fabricated chiral LCs from bacteriophages create enamel replicas.

Conclusions:

• Chemical strategies offer promising biomimetic structures but have complexity limitations.
• Implementing living or artificial cells in 'morphosynthesis' is a key future direction.
• Cellular construction is crucial for building complex, functional biomimetic hierarchies.