Essay 1

Overall, it seems to me that scaffolds are the most important tools of Tissue
Engineering. Scaffolds are indispensable for a multitude of reasons. They significantly delay
wound closure, preventing the development of scar tissue, and afford the indigenous cells
surrounding the wound enough time to engage in processes of regeneration instead of
simple repair, as would occur naturally. They also provide a supporting medium through
which cells can migrate and proliferate, as well as adhere too, greatly facilitating the healing
process. This is not to say that cells are not important, after all, without them new tissue
could never be made. However, it has been observed that an inactive scaffold grafted to a
skin wound, even if treated with cells, e.g., keratinocytes, still leads to scar formation,
suggesting that while a scaffold by itself can still be very useful for tissue regeneration, the
same cannot necessarily be said about cells.
 Essay 2

The ECM of connective tissues contains four major fibrous proteins, namely collagen,
elastin, fibronectin and laminin. Laminin is a relatively large and flexible glycoprotein of
heterotrimeric nature. It is made up of three distinct polypeptide chains, designated alpha,
beta and gamma, interwoven to form a cross-like structure, with three short arms and one
long arm. Each arm has a particular affinity to certain kinds of molecules due to their diverse
functional domains. It is notable that the short arms are quite good at connecting to the
short arms of other laminin units and that the long arm can bind itself to cells. Laminin can
also connect to several other components of the ECM. Due to it being an indispensable part
of the basal laminae, laminin is critical to processes such as cell attachment and
differentiation, regulation of cell shape and movement, conservation of tissue phenotype
and promotion of tissue survival.
 Essay 3

The choice of biomaterial to be employed in the construction of a scaffold is a crucial

step in every tissue engineering project. After all, this choice establishes the ability of the
scaffold to promote cell attachment, proliferation and migration, as well as its capacity to
integrate properly upon implantation. A biomaterial must therefore possess certain
important characteristics. Namely, it should be biocompatible, deterring immunological
responses, biodegradable, allowing it to be eliminated by the organism once it has served its
purpose, bioactive, so that it actively supports biological processes, and biomimetic. This last
characteristic, while perhaps not as indispensable as biocompatibility and biodegradability,
is nonetheless of great value in scaffolds that seek to regenerate structural tissues, such as
cartilage, since it permits them to mimic the composition and biomechanical properties of
the particular tissue in question. This leads to the creation of an especially stable
environment in which regeneration can occur.
 Essay 4

Bioceramics are a class of biomaterials commonly employed in bone tissue

engineering. They can be divided into two categories, calcium phosphates and bioactive
glasses, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. Both of these types of bioceramics
possess excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity, being able to bond directly to bone
tissue, and osteoconductivity, providing support for osteoblastic cell attachment,
proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, bioactive glasses promote osteogenicity by
stimulating cellular responses that lead to the formation of new bone. Contrariwise, almost
all bioceramics exhibit rather poor mechanical properties, being brittle and having low
tensile strength and fracture toughness compared to natural bone. This characteristic is
usually more accentuated in the case of bioactive glasses. Aside from this, crystalline
calcium phosphates have another great disadvantage, namely their low biodegradability. In
conclusion, bioceramics cannot be exclusively employed for bone regeneration, although
their positive qualities can be exploited by incorporating them into composite materials.
 Essay 5

Among several factors that must be weighed when evaluating the efficacy of a
scaffold for tissue engineering is the degree of interconnectivity of its pore structure. The
importance of this characteristic resides in the fact that an interconnected pore network
greatly facilitates cell proliferation and migration, besides supporting cellular activity by
allowing an adequate transport of nutrients and removal of wastes. Overall, it can promote
the integral formation of new tissue by guaranteeing a more uniform cell distribution
throughout the entire scaffold. Freeze-drying is usually employed to fabricate highly porous
scaffolds. It consists in the cooling of a polymer solution leading to the formation of solvent
crystals. These are subsequently sublimated at low pressure leaving behind pores within the
solidified polymer. The porosity of the resulting scaffold can be increased by using solutions
with a lower concentration and pore morphology and interconnectivity can be regulated by
tuning the freezing temperature.