Current Trend and New Opportunities for Multifunctional Bio-Scaffold Fabrication via High-Pressure Foaming

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Biocompatible and biodegradable foams are crucial for tissue engineering scaffolds.
• High-pressure foaming offers low-temperature processing for incorporating cells and bioactive molecules.
• This technique avoids cytotoxic compounds, enhancing scaffold safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the state-of-the-art in high-pressure foaming of biomedical polymers and composites.
• To highlight current trends in designing and fabricating multifunctional tissue engineering scaffolds.
• To discuss the application of gas foaming for bio-scaffold fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing high-pressure foaming techniques for polymer and composite processing.
• Investigating material selection and processing conditions to modulate scaffold properties.
• Incorporating bioactive molecules, cells, inorganic fillers, and drugs into scaffolds.

Main Results:

• Engineering of porous scaffolds with biomimetic porosity to guide cell behavior.
• Mimicking hierarchical architectures of complex tissues like bone.
• Bioactivation of scaffolds via incorporation of inorganic fillers and drugs.

Conclusions:

• High-pressure foaming is a versatile technique for creating advanced biomedical scaffolds.
• The process enables precise control over scaffold architecture and functionality.
• This method supports the development of multifunctional scaffolds for diverse tissue engineering applications.