Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine: Historical Perspectives and Current Trends

Biomaterials are key components in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, with the intended purpose of reducing the burden of disease and enhancing the quality of life of a large number of patients. The success of many regenerative medicine strategies, such as cell-based therapies, artificial organs, and engineered living tissues, is highly dependent on the ability to design or produce suitable biomaterials that can support and guide cells during tissue healing and remodelling processes. This chapter presents an overview about basic research concerning the use of different biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Starting from a historical perspective, the chapter introduces the basic principles of designing biomaterials for tissue regeneration approaches. The main focus is set on describing the main classes of biomaterials that have been applied in regenerative medicine, including natural and synthetic polymers, bioactive ceramics, and composites. For each class of biomaterials, some of the most important physicochemical and biological properties are presented. Finally, some challenges and concerns that remain in this field are presented and discussed.