Cellular & Molecular Medicine: Open access

Tissue engineering is that the use of a mixture of cells, engineering and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to enhance or replace biological tissues. Tissue engineering involves the utilization of a tissue scaffold for the formation of latest viable tissue for a medical purpose. While it had been once categorized as a sub-field of biomaterials, having grown in scope and importance it are often considered as a field in its own. While most definitions of tissue engineering cover a wide range of applications, in practice the term is closely related to applications that repair or replace portions of or whole tissues. Often, the tissues involved require certain mechanical and structural properties for correct functioning. The term has also been applied to efforts to perform specific biochemical functions using cells within an artificially-created network. The term regenerative medicine is usually used with tissue engineering, although those involved in regenerative medicine place more emphasis on the utilization of stem cells or progenitor cells to supply tissues.