Oxygen-releasing biomaterials for tissue engineering

Due to the increasing demand to generate thick and vascularized tissue-engineered constructs, novel strategies are currently being developed. An emerging example is the generation of oxygen-releasing biomaterials to tackle mass transport and diffusion limitations within engineered tissue constructs. Biomaterials containing oxygen-releasing molecules can be fabricated in various forms, such as hybrid thin films, microparticles or three dimensional scaffolds. In this perspective, we summarize various oxygen-releasing reagents and their potential applications in regenerative engineering. Moreover, we review the main approaches for fabricating oxygen-releasing biomaterials for a range of tissue engineering applications. (c) 2013 Society of Chemical Industry