Biomaterials for Bone Regeneration

Gene transfer vectors and their incorporation into biomaterials 397

12.7 Conclusions

Materials for tissue engineering have signi cantly progressed during the last

decade. Whereas initially these biomaterials were viewed as biologically inert

matrices or scaffolds, they nowadays can be considered as platforms capable

of providing signals to cells and tissues to guide local cell behavior and hence

support tissue regeneration. Without doubt, the next generation of biomateri-

als will be multi-functional materials that are simultaneously able to provide

complex biological signals, i.e. chemical, structural, and mechanical, to replace

mechanical function, as well as to be able to respond to environmental stimuli.

In the future, biomaterials ...