Scaffold Fabrication Technologies and Structure/Function Properties in Bone Tissue Engineering

Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is a rapidly growing field aiming to create a biofunctional tissue that can integrate and degrade in vivo to treat diseased or damaged tissue. It has become evident that scaffold fabrication techniques are very important in dictating the final structural, mechanical properties, and biological response of the implanted biomaterials. A comprehensive review of the current accomplishments on scaffold fabrication techniques, their structure, and function properties for BTE is provided herein. Different types of biomaterials ranging from inorganic biomaterials to natural and synthetic polymers and related composites for scaffold processing are presented. Emergent scaffolding techniques such as electrospinning, freeze‐drying, bioprinting, and decellularization are also discussed. Strategies to improve vascularization potential and immunomodulation, which is considered a grand challenge in BTE scaffolding, are also presented. Bone tissue engineering aims to create biofunctional tissue, while scaffold fabrication techniques are rapidly evolving with higher spatial resolutions and hierarchical structural capabilities, enabling the possibility of tailoring the mechanical and biological response of implanted biomaterials. Herein, commentary on current structure/property/function relationships of biomaterials in bone tissue engineering and how these are influenced by the latest scaffold fabrication technologies are offered.