Spinal Implants: Bioengineering a Multicomponent Spinal Motion Segment Construct-A 3D Model for Complex Tissue Engineering (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 1/2015)

The first realization of a bioengineered quadri‐phasic spinal motion segment (SMS) is reported by B. P. Chan and co‐workers on page 99 using mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and collagen as starting materials. The construct consists of two vertebrae‐endplate‐like subunits, sandwiching a multi‐lamellae annulus fibrosus‐like component, which entraps a soft nucleus pulposus‐like core. The complex hierarchical organization ranges from nano‐fibrous collagen meshwork to micrometer‐sized MSC‐collagen beads, and from millimeter‐sized individual tissue components to centimeter‐sized SMS construct.