Abstract

Angiogenesis is a vital requirement for the formation of healthy tissue and bone; this currently is one of the greatest challenges in the field of tissue engineering. A promising strategy to achieve formation of suitable, intrinsic vasculature is the use of biodegradable microfluidic networks [1]. Pre-seeding the microfluidic medical devices with angiogenic growth factors, stem cells, collagen, specific proteins and bone cells will allow for successful soft tissue and bone regeneration. Biodegradable scaffolds may be constructed by a numbering up operation where several layers of microfluidic medical devices are compiled together via a multi-scale design; thus enabling scaffolds to be moulded into specific shapes and sizes depending upon the patients requirements. The micro-channels would support better cell proliferation aiding in enhanced attachment between implants and biological material while the enhanced capillary forces will allow for the circulation of the nutritional components which are necessary for the growth of cells.

© 2017 IEEE