Biomaterials for in situ tissue regeneration: development and perspectives

Tissue engineering has emerged as a powerful method to treat the loss of tissues and organs in the past several decades. Many commercial products based on tissue engineering have been applied in clinical practice. In addition to classical tissue engineering strategies, in situ tissue regeneration (in vivo tissue engineering) has become a more and more important therapy for damaged tissues and organs as it avoids in vitro cell manipulation and takes advantage of an in vivo microenvironment to regulate cell activities. Biomaterials are one of the key factors for in situ tissue regeneration and should possess unique features including physical properties, chemical composition, and biological functions to modulate cell behaviors such as adhesion, proliferation, migration, differentiation and neo-tissue formation. In this review, recent development of biomaterials used for in situ tissue regeneration has been summarized, classified by sources and the design of biomaterials including physical design, chemical composition, and biological functionalization was highlighted. In addition, the application of biomaterials for in situ tissue regeneration was also reviewed. Finally, a brief conclusion and some perspectives were given in terms of the future trend of biomaterials for in situ tissue regeneration.