Functional Biomaterials for Bone Tissue Engineering

Dear Colleagues,

Bone diseases such as osteoporosis, bone cancer, or osteoarthritis—the progression of which increases subchondral bone loss—are major causes of bone defects. The current treatments available are insufficient to address the need for bone tissue in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgery. Therefore, tissue engineering is an efficient alternative for treating such defects. This approach employs the combination of biomaterials, cells, and bioactive agents to promote bone regeneration. To date, a wide range of synthetic and natural biopolymers and biocomposite materials have emerged to induce the formation of bone constructs with the biochemical and mechanical properties of native tissue. The ideal material should potentially guide effective bone tissue regeneration and exhibit a good bioactivity, biocompatibility, and osteoconductivity. However, to make long-term repair successful, critical aspects such as structure, inflammation, vascularization, innervation, and biomechanical properties have to be taken into account.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the emerging materials developed to recreate the microenvironments present in native bone. Additionally, special attention is given to scaffold designs, fabrication methods such as 3D printing, and material–cell interactions, which are of great importance to the structure and functionality of engineered bone tissue.

Dr. Elena López-Ruíz
Dr. Jaime Gómez Morales
Dr. Juan Antonio Marchal Corrales
Guest Editors

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• functionalized polymeric materials
• biomaterials
• polymer engineering
• 3D bioprinting
• tissue engineering
• synthetic and natural biopolymers
• decellularized matrix
• bone regeneration
• osteochondral regeneration