Assessment of collagen based polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering

Abstract

The use of collagen-glycosaminoglycan copolymers in tissue engineering scaffolds has seen promise to date in skin regeneration templates, hollow nerve guides for peripheral nerve regeneration, and conjunctiva regeneration. Future applications appear to be directed toward both in vivo and in vitro engineering of complex cellular systems, with significant progress being prevented by a lack of biological knowledge concerning cell-matrix interactions, cell-cell interactions, and matrix-cytokine interactions. Despite this lack of knowledge, collagen based polymers still hold several benefits over competing technologies such as degradable synthetic polyesters, pseudo-poly amino acids, fibrin based polymers, and tissue derived matrices. Development of key patents in the field since the 1970's has rooted the fundamental technology for developing bioactive scaffolds in the hands of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The short-term profitability of this technology can be realized by developing and marketing tissue engineering devices such as matrix filled nerve guides, where as long term profitability may be found in identifying material characteristics that confer bioactivity, and licensing this technology to facilitate commercialization.