Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering for Soft Tissue Reconstruction

The field of regenerative medicine utilizes biomaterial and cell-based approaches to regenerate damaged or diseased tissues. Current clinical strategies for soft tissue reconstruction highlight the need for regenerative medicine therapies. Patients who have significant soft tissue loss often require autologous flap reconstructions whereby tissue is removed from a donor site to repair the defect, resulting in donor site morbidity. Development of an off-the-shelf biomaterial for soft tissue regeneration could provide a readily available soft tissue replacement in cases of trauma or tumor resection. Researchers have investigated a wide range of biomaterial scaffolds for adipose tissue engineering, including synthetic polymers and naturally derived matrices. These scaffolds can be used alone or in conjunction with a cell source to facilitate tissue regeneration. These strategies for soft tissue repair can potentially stimulate regeneration of adipose tissue, obviating the need for donor site tissue to replace damaged soft connective tissues.