Advanced in-vitro cell culture methods using natural biomaterials

Abstract

The in vitro culturing of constructs for Tissue Engineering is a crucial step towards it future application in vivo. Not only the cells response to the biomaterials must be studied, but also the way cells interact with the scaffold in a specific tissue development context. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the most advanced in vitro cell culture methods using natural-based biomaterials. We will explore the use of bioreactors as tools to scale-up biomaterials and cell-scaffold constructs, and also their use in the mimicking of a cellular microenvironment. The culture conditions of cells and scaffolds is another important issue, as different tissues require different oxygen tensions, or alternatively, show improved ability to regenerate when co-cultured with other types of cells. The recent advances in gene and drug delivery, using scaffolds and nanoparticles, are also explored herein.