In vivo Engineering of Tissues: Biological Considerations, Challenges, Strategies, and Future Directions

Moving forward materials‐based regenerative medicine faces many challenges to ensure clinical success. Many of these challenges lie at the interface of molecular/structural biology and materials science. This review discusses this issue from a biological and material view‐point, highlighting key biological processes and variables that can impact the repair processes. From a materials design stand point, developing materials that can promote healing over scarring is the key. All indicators suggest that polymeric materials are most well‐suited for de novo engineering of tissues. In addition to biomolecular signals that are involved in controlling the fate of cells and neo‐tissue morphogenesis at the site of implantation, this review also discusses recent advances in design of highly functional injectable biomaterials, that show promise in controlling local biological processes.