Bioceramics for Tissue Engineering Applications-A Review

Three dimensional (3-D) scaffolds have been explored in an attempt to persuade the body to heal or repair tissues that do not do so spontaneously. Considerable advances in tissue engineering and regeneration have been accomplished over the last decade. However, the material and 3-D scaffolds ideal for optimal regeneration of missing or lost tissues has not been identified. While current materials and techniques have met with varying successes, each exhibits limitations that must be addressed. In addition, despite the large amount of research in the area of 3-D scaffolds for bone tissue engineering that has been performed over the past decade, there is an overall lack of success in bringing this technology to the clinic, especially for porous scaffolds used to restore large bone defects. This review paper will focus on the use of calcium phosphate (CaP) materials used for tissue engineering, the different known methods of scaffold synthesis, and some of the significant in vitro, in vivo, and clinical outcomes when these CaP scaffolds were used in patients.