Tissue engineering scaffolds for the spinal cord: recent advances and future prospects

Spinal cord tissue engineering scaffolds represent a highly promising option for the treatment and repair of spinal cord injury (SCI). They have a wide range of potential applications and, as essential biomaterial carriers, can restore the multifunctional microenvironment. Since spinal cord tissue engineering scaffolds have developed rapidly in recent years, a comprehensive and up-to-date review outlining future research directions and summarizing current findings is urgently needed. This paper first introduces the functional and fundamental material criteria for tissue engineering scaffolds used in the treatment of SCI. Next, we review developments in scaffold functionalization, including material modification and composites, scaffold structural design, cell seeding, and the delivery of bioactive molecules. We then provide an overview of design approaches for multifunctional composite scaffolds, such as synergistic composite scaffolds and smart responsive designs. Finally, we outline the current limitations of spinal cord tissue engineering scaffolds and their future development directions. We hope this article will provide valuable insights to support the application of spinal cord tissue engineering scaffolds in the biomedical field.