Polymer-Based Nanocomposites for Tissue Engineering: Surface to Bulk Structural Design

Materials design and development for the replacement of injured tissues has been a major challenge for decades. Polymer-based nanocomposites (PNCs) are the most appealing class of materials due to their biocompatibility, mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, bioactivity, biodegradability, and processability. Recent advances in the design and fabrication of PNCs rely on the manufacturing of fibrous structures and hierarchical architectures to mimic the structure of extracellular matrix (ECM) where all biochemical and biomechanical signals are transferred to the surrounding tissue. So far, various PNCs have been developed for the healing or regeneration of soft, hard, and semi-hard tissues. In this chapter, different polymeric biomaterials in the form of fibrous structures, three-dimensional scaffolds, injectable smart hydrogels, biomedical implant coatings, and antibacterial wound dressings are presented. The mechanical features that fulfill the requirement of natural tissues, as well as the most appealing biological responses relating to protein adsorption, cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation, are discussed. The materials selection criteria and the role of nanofillers to generate nanotopography and bioactivity, as well as the future perspective of Machine Learning (ML) in optimization of materials composition and fabrication processes of PNCs in tissue engineering, especially for personalized medicine is stated.