In Vitro Platforms in Bone Tissue Engineering: From Biological Foundations to Advanced Models

Area of Science:

• Regenerative Medicine
• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Large bone defects pose a significant global health challenge, with current treatments like autologous grafting facing limitations.
• Bone tissue engineering (BTE) has emerged as a promising alternative, progressing from basic scaffolds to sophisticated systems.
• Existing in vitro models often lack the complexity of the bone microenvironment, impeding clinical translation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To trace the historical evolution of bone tissue engineering (BTE) from 1980 to the present.
• To highlight key innovations in biomaterials, cellular strategies, signaling factors, and culture platforms within BTE.
• To discuss the advancements and challenges of bone-on-a-chip (BOC) systems in regenerative medicine.

Main Methods:

• Historical review of BTE advancements across four distinct phases.
• Analysis of innovations in biomaterials, cell sourcing, signaling molecules, and culture technologies.
• Examination of integrated approaches including multicellular cocultures, real-time biosensing, and mechanical stimulation.

Main Results:

• BTE has progressed through foundational, expansion, refinement, and advanced regeneration phases.
• Bone-on-a-chip (BOC) systems integrate multiple advanced features, representing a significant leap in regenerative medicine.
• BOC platforms show potential for disease modeling, drug screening, and reducing animal testing.

Conclusions:

• Current BOC systems offer versatile applications but face challenges in standardization, vascularization, and manufacturing.
• Integrating biosensors with BOC and BTE platforms can enhance real-time monitoring and personalized regenerative strategies.
• Advanced BTE platforms, particularly BOC, hold the potential to accelerate bone therapies and expand regenerative medicine's impact.