Biomaterials for Hard Tissue Engineering: Concepts, Methods, and Applications

Global tissue engineering market growth is expected to reach USD 28.9 billion by 2027 and witnesses a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 14.2% from 2020 to 2027. Rapid technological advancement in hard tissue engineering is expected to provide an effective solution for chronic conditions such as bone and joint disorder, severe injury, oral diseases, etc. Hard tissues engineering in the bones and teeth regeneration requires multiple contributing factors such as cells (embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, fibroblast, etc.), smart biomaterial-based scaffolds (ceramics, polymers, composites, etc.), and growth factors (e.g., granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin (IL-8), tyrosine kinase-3, stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin-1 (ANG-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), etc.). Advances in the development of biomaterials have provided attractive alternatives to hard tissue repair and replacement by regenerating tissues. Smart biomaterials provide exciting potential in hard tissue engineering by providing osteoinductive, osteoconductive, triggering/stimulating effects on cells and tissues to promote effective regeneration. In this chapter, we provide a brief description towards the importance of tissue engineering in the field of hard tissue regeneration, recent advances of biomaterials and strategies to fabricate biomaterials scaffolds for bone and tooth regeneration, significance of 3D bioprinting in hard tissue engineering, etc. Also, the chapter highlights current clinical trials in hard tissue engineering and portrays major challenges and future outlooks.