Infoscience

Journal article

Biomechanics in bone tissue engineering

Biomechanics may be considered as central in the development of bone tissue engineering. The initial mechanical aspects are essential to the outcome of a functional tissue engineering approach; so are aspects of interface micromotion, bone ingrowths inside the scaffold and finally, the mechanical integrity of the scaffold during its degradation. A proposed view is presented herein on how biomechanical aspects can be synthesised and where future developments are needed. In particular, a distinction is made between the mechanical and the mechanotransductional aspects of bone tissue engineering: the former could be related to osteoconduction, while the latter may be correlated to the osteoinductive properties of the scaffold. This distinction allows biomechanicians to follow a strategy in the development of a scaffold having not only mechanical targets but also incorporating some mechanotransduction principles.

Keywords: bone scaffold ; load-bearing application ; biomechanics ; mechanotransduction ; tissue engineering ; Mesenchymal Stem-Cells ; Finite-Element ; Osteogenic Differentiation ; Biophysical Principles ; Mechanical-Properties ; Trabecular Bone ; Fluid-Flow ; In-Vitro ; Scaffolds ; Regeneration

Reference

Record created on 2012-01-10, modified on 2012-03-21