Engineering extracellular matrix through nanotechnology

The goal of tissue engineering is the creation of a living device that can restore, maintain or improve tissue function. Behind this goal is a new idea that has emerged from twentieth century medicine, science and engineering. It is preceded by centuries of human repair and replacement with non-living materials adapted to restore function and cosmetic appearance to patients whose tissues have been destroyed by disease, trauma or congenital abnormality. The nineteenth century advanced replacement and repair strategies based on moving living structures from a site of normal tissue into a site of defects created by the same processes. Donor skin into burn wounds, tendon transfers, intestinal replacements into the urinary tract, toes to replace fingers are all examples. The most radical application is that of vital organ transplantation in which a vital part such as heart, lung or liver is removed from one donor, preserved for transfer and implanted into a patient dying of end-stage organ failure. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have advanced a general strategy combining the cellular elements of living tissue with sophisticated biomaterials to produce living structures of sufficient size and function to improve patients' lives. Multiple strategies have evolved and the application of nanotechnology can only improve the field. In our era, by necessity, any medical advance must be successfully commercialized to allow widespread application to help the greatest number of patients. It follows that business models and regulatory agencies must adapt and change to enable these new technologies to emerge. This brief review will discuss the science of nanotechnology and how it has been applied to this evolving field. We will then briefly summarize the history of commercialization of tissue engineering and suggest that nanotechnology may be of use in breeching the barriers to commercialization although its primary mission is to improve the technology by solving some remaining and vexing problems in its science and engineering aspects.