Chapter 19- Nanotechnology-based cell engineering strategies for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications

We have been assisting a multitude of scientific achievements in the merging fields of cell- and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM), and thus there is a need to highlight the most recent and relevant works in these particular areas of research. Owing to the multidisciplinary nature of these fields, we were encouraged to briefly overview other important issues namely, those related with the application of nanotechnology principles in regenerative medicine. This particular topic is appealing since there is the need for developing more effective treatments to cure the several spontaneous and injuries-related diseases. Owing to the limited regenerative capacity of the body, scientists envision for example, nanoparticle systems for efficiently delivering specific drugs, bioactive agents, and genetic material, and to target-specific cells or even cellular compartments. In this chapter, the regenerative potential of different cells (and its sources), and their responsiveness to modulators are succinctly addressed. The cell engineering strategies that have been designed for targeting the regeneration or repair of specific body parts is also discussed herein. Focus is placed on the research dealing with new promising strategies, namely the use of nanocarriers, polymeric, and ceramic, for the control delivery of biomolecules intracellularly. These vehicles are aimed at modulating cell functions such as, adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of cells. If this strategy on one side, allowed our group to envision regenerate bone by means of controlling stem cells differentiation in vitro while maintaining their cellular phenotype in vivo upon reimplantation, whereas on the other, we were able to apply the developed nanocarriers to cross other biological barriers such as the blood–brain barrier, opening up new possibilities for targeting the central nervous system (CNS).