title: Micro- and nanoscale technologies for tissue engineering and drug discovery applications.
abstract: Micro- and nanoscale technologies are emerging as powerful enabling tools for tissue engineering and drug discovery. In tissue engineering, micro- and nanotechnologies can be used to fabricate biomimetic scaffolds with increased complexity and vascularization. Furthermore, these technologies can be used to control the cellular microenvironment (i.e., cell-cell, cell-matrix and cell-soluble factor interactions) in a reproducible manner and with high temporal and spatial resolution. In drug discovery, miniaturized platforms based on micro- and nanotechnology can be used to precisely control the fluid flow, enable high-throughput screening, and minimize sample or reagent volumes. In addition, these systems enhance reproducibility and significantly reduce reaction times. This paper reviews the recent developments in the field of micro- and nanoscale technology and gives examples of their tissue engineering and drug discovery applications.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Room 252, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA +1 617 768 8395 ; +1 617 768 8477 ; alik@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Bong Geun
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khademhosseini