Nanomaterial-assisted tissue engineering and regenerative medical therapy

The approach of nanotechnology, that is, engineering at the nanometer scale toward regenerative medical therapy, had led to various advances in biological science and clinical medicine. The main aim of regenerative medicine is to induce regeneration and repair of defective tissues based on the natural healing potential of patients themselves through creating regeneration environment by making use of bionanomaterials. At the nanoscopic realm, nanomaterials not only can brilliantly mimic the biological characteristics of natural tissues supporting cell proliferation as 622scaffolds but also can efficiently guide the cells toward a desirable behavior. Thus, manipulation at the molecular level using several engineered nanomaterials has potentially revolutionized diverse areas of regenerative medical therapy such as tissue engineering, cell therapy, theranostics, diagnosis, and drug/gene/growth factor delivery. This chapter collates some of the latest developments on the utilization of nanotechnology (biomaterials science) for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, with an inclusion of the potential risks of these nanomaterials toward human health.