Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Mar 30;13(7):1105.
doi: 10.3390/polym13071105.

A Comparative Review of Natural and Synthetic Biopolymer Composite Scaffolds

M Sai Bhargava Reddy  1 , Deepalekshmi Ponnamma  2 , Rajan Choudhary  3   4   5 , Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni  2
Affiliations
Review

A Comparative Review of Natural and Synthetic Biopolymer Composite Scaffolds

M Sai Bhargava Reddy et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine integrate information and technology from various fields to restore/replace tissues and damaged organs for medical treatments. To achieve this, scaffolds act as delivery vectors or as cellular systems for drugs and cells; thereby, cellular material is able to colonize host cells sufficiently to meet up the requirements of regeneration and repair. This process is multi-stage and requires the development of various components to create the desired neo-tissue or organ. In several current TE strategies, biomaterials are essential components. While several polymers are established for their use as biomaterials, careful consideration of the cellular environment and interactions needed is required in selecting a polymer for a given application. Depending on this, scaffold materials can be of natural or synthetic origin, degradable or nondegradable. In this review, an overview of various natural and synthetic polymers and their possible composite scaffolds with their physicochemical properties including biocompatibility, biodegradability, morphology, mechanical strength, pore size, and porosity are discussed. The scaffolds fabrication techniques and a few commercially available biopolymers are also tabulated.

Keywords: biodegradability; natural biopolymer; scaffolds; synthetic biopolymer; tissue engineering.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The essential variables involved in scaffold design for TE.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Natural and synthetic polymers were rearranged based on bio vs non-bio and biodegradable vs nonbiodegradable characteristics, where PHB: polyhydroxybutyrate; PLA: polylactic acid; PCL: polycaprolactone; PGA: poly(glycolic acid); PVA: poly(vinyl alcohol); PEA: poly(ethylene adipate); PES: polyethersulfone; PBS: polybutylene succinate; PET: polyethylene terephthalate; PE: polyethylene; PP: polypropylene; PVC: polyvinyl chloride; PC: polycarbonate; PS: polystyrene; PA: polyamide; and PEF: polyethylene furanoate.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The essential variables that define the scaffold’s biocompatibility.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Biodegradation mechanisms of natural and synthetic polymers.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Scheme of different size scales of relevant structures.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic depicting the normal variation in elasticity of the indicated tissue.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Conventional and advanced scaffold fabrication techniques.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Berthiaume F., Yarmush M.L. Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2003. Tissue Engineering; pp. 817–842.
    1. Furth M.E., Atala A. Principles of Tissue Engineering. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2014. Tissue Engineering; pp. 83–123.
    1. Caddeo S., Boffito M., Sartori S. Tissue Engineering Approaches in the Design of Healthy and Pathological In Vitro Tissue Models. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 2017;5:40. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00040. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bonassar L.J., Vacanti C.A. Tissue Engineering: The First Decade and Beyond. J. Cell. Biochem. 1998;30–31:297–303. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4644(1998)72:30/31+<297::AID-JCB36>3.0.CO;2-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bell E. Tissue Engineering, An Overview. In: Bell E., editor. Tissue Engineering. Birkhäuser; Boston, MA, USA: 1993. pp. 3–15.

LinkOut - more resources