Journal
TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
Volume 39, Issue 2, Pages 150-164Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.06.005
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Funding
- Top University Strategic Alliance PhD Scholarship from Taiwan
- Medical Research Council (MRC) [MR/S00551X/1]
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Programme Grant 'Engineering growth factor microenvironments -a new therapeutic paradigm for regenerative medicine' [EP/P001114/1]
- UK Regenerative Medicine Platform 'Acellular/Smart Materials -3D Architecture' [MR/R015651/1]
- MRC [MR/R015651/1, MR/S00551X/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Natural tissues and organs exhibit important spatial gradients, stimulating research into replicating these gradients in engineered tissues. Existing gradient fabrication methods can be categorized into additive manufacturing, component redistribution, controlled phase changes, and postmodification. Recent examples and trends in the field have outlined criteria and perspectives for gradient fabrication.
Natural tissues and organs exhibit an array of spatial gradients, from the polarized neural tube during embryonic development to the osteochondral interface present at articulating joints. The strong structure-function relationships in these heterogeneous tissues have sparked intensive research into the development of methods that can replicate physiological gradients in engineered tissues. In this Review, we consider different gradients present in natural tissues and discuss their critical importance in functional tissue engineering. Using this basis, we consolidate the existing fabrication methods into four categories: additive manufacturing, component redistribution, controlled phase changes, and postmodification. We have illustrated this with recent examples, highlighted prominent trends in the field, and outlined a set of criteria and perspectives for gradient fabrication.
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