Abstract

In recent years, bone tissue engineering has emerged as one of the main research areas in the field of regenerative biomedicine. Frequency and relevance age-related diseases, such as healing and regeneration of bone tissues, are rising due to increasing life expectancy. Even though bone tissue has excellent self-regeneration ability, when bone defects exceed a critical size, impaired bone formation can occur and surgical intervention becomes mandatory. Bone tissue engineering represents an alternative approach to conventional bone transplants. The main aim of tissue engineering is to repair, regenerate or reconstruct damaged or degenerative tissue.

This review presents an overview on the main materials, techniques and strategies in the field of bone tissue engineering. Whilst presenting some reviews recently published that deepen on each of the sections of the paper, this review article aims to present some of the most relevant advances, both in terms of new materials and strategies, currently being developed for bone repair and regeneration.

Keywords: Tissue engineering, bioresorbable polymers, polymeric scaffolds, bone, regenerative biomedicine, age-related diseases, healing, bone transplants, degenerative tissue, bone repair