The periodontium is a complex hierarchical structure composed of alveolar bone, periodontal ligament, cementum, and gingiva. Hierarchical biomaterial scaffolds offer the opportunity to recreate the organization and architecture of the periodontium with distinct compartments, providing structural biomimicry that facilitates periodontal regeneration.
In a recent review article published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, SCERG-iBB and DBE researchers Mafalda Santos, João C. Silva and Marta S. Carvalho provided an overview of the recent research on hierarchical scaffolds for periodontal tissue engineering (TE). First, the authors described the hierarchical structure of the periodontium, covering the limitations of the current treatments used for periodontal regeneration. Recent research regarding hierarchical scaffolds is highlighted and discussed, in particular, the scaffold composition, fabrication methods, and results from in vitro/in vivo studies are summarized. Finally, current challenges associated with the application of hierarchical scaffolds for periodontal TE are debated and future research directions are proposed.
This work was coordinated by Dr. João C. Silva and Dr. Marta S. Carvalho under the scope of the FCT projects DentalBioMatrix (PTDC/BTM-MAT/3538/2020) and InSilico4OCReg (PTDC/EME-SIS/0838/2021).
Link to paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/16/8562
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