Many biomaterials have been proposed to produce scaffolds aiming the regeneration of many tissues. We have a particular interest in developing systems combining natural polymers and synthetic biodegradable polymers. By proposing those systems for those demanding applications, we aim at obtaining biomaterial systems with enhanced properties namely mechanical properties, processability, cell-friendly surfaces and tunable biodegradability. Our biomaterials may be processed by melting routes (solvent-free) into devices with wide applications such as biodegradable scaffolds, films or particles and adaptable to many biomedical applications.

As an example of processing technologies, electrospinning has recently gained popularity as a simple and versatile technique to produce synthetic polymeric ultrafine fibers. This technique allows the production of non-woven meshes with fiber diameters in the nanometer range, which results in a high surface area-to-volume ratio and high porosity. Additionaly, these nanofiber meshes can mimic the extracellular matrix of human tissues and, therefore, can be used as scaffolds for Tissue Engineering (TE) applications. We have been developing such structures, enhancing its functionality by fine tuning the geometry of the collectors used, and allowing obtaining very special morphologies different than the random aligned structures typically obtained. Furthermore, we have been developing functionalization strategies for those meshes, enhancing their performance for a range of TERM-related applications. The properties of those meshes may also be optimized by various functional modifications further improving the biological performance of the nanofibre meshes.

Many sources of cells were considered for tissue engineering. Embryonic, iPS and adult stem cells are among the most promising to achieve the cell numbers required to have therapeutic relevance. The ethical and political constraints surrounding embryonic stem cell line derivation led most research efforts to concentrate both in iPS and in adult stem cells. We have been proposing adult stem cells from different sources for bone and cartilage tissue engineering applications.

This talk will review our latest developments using natural-based biomaterials and nanofibre meshes in the context of bone and cartilage tissue engineering applications.