title: Micro- and nanofabrication of chitosan structures for regenerative engineering.
abstract: Repair and regeneration of human tissues and organs using biomaterials, cells and/or growth factors is the ultimate goal of tissue engineers. One of the grand challenges in this field is to closely mimic the structures and properties of native tissues. Regenerative engineering-the convergence of tissue engineering with advanced materials science, stem cell science, and developmental biology-represents the next valuable tool to overcome the challenges. This article reviews the recent progress in developing advanced chitosan structures using various fabrication techniques. These chitosan structures, together with stem cells and functional biomolecules, may provide a robust platform to gain insight into cell-biomaterial interactions and may function as excellent artificial extracellular matrices to regenerate complex human tissues and biological systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Institute for Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, CT 06030, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute for Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, CT 06030, USA; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Institute for Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, CT 06030, USA; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
authors.forename: Roshan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Institute for Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, CT 06030, USA; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Department of Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
authors.forename: Lakshmi S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Institute for Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, CT 06030, USA; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Department of Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. Electronic address: laurencin@uchc.edu.
authors.forename: Cato T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Laurencin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000494:pharmacology; D055616:Microtechnology / Q000379:methods*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Chitosan; Microfabrication; Nanofabrication; Regenerative engineering