Engineering of Bone: Uncovering Strategies of Static and Dynamic Environments

A highly specialized connective tissue, bone, possesses inherent regenerative capacity. However, substantial degeneration and loss of bone due to bone tumour resections or traumatic injuries delay its healing, thereby suggesting alternate treatment options. Currently available treatments may offer repair to some extent; however, they are associated with certain disadvantages. Autografts fail under circumstances such as large bone loss and are associated with limited availability and donor site morbidity. Alternatives such as allografts are further associated with risk of immune rejection. Even if all of this pass, the limited availability of donors is unable to cover the associated clinical demands. In the search for bone repair and regeneration protocols, emergence of tissue engineering has greatly contributed to repair and regeneration of bone and bone-like complex tissues. Therefore, this chapter will uncover recent trends in bone tissue engineering with a focus on scaffolds, cells, growth factors and dynamic environments.