A review on the clay-polymercomposites as tissue engineering scaffolds

Tissue engineering has been providing exciting technologies for the development of functional substitutes aimed to repair and regenerate damaged tissues and organs. The mechanical properties of the scaffolds used in tissue engineering is worth considering in that the scaffolds need to possess high tensile strength to withstand both external and internal stresses during tissue regeneration. Lack of mechanical stability, high rate of degradation in vivo, lack of biocompatibility and inability to induce vascularization are some of drawbacks of polymeric tissue engineering scaffolds. To overcome these problems composite materials have emerged as an efficient strategy to upgrade the structural and functional properties of polymers.Hence, clay and other materials including some bioceramics, metal oxides, and carbonaceous materials have been used to improve the properties of composite polymers. The interest in clays amongst the scientific community has increased in recent years due to its composition and structure. Additionally, interest in the synthesis and application of polymer-clay composites in tissue engineering is growing because of their cheapness, availability, and environmentally-friendly. The structure of clay allows intercalation of different biomolecules between clay layers. Emergence of clay materials including Montmorillonite, Halloysite, Laponite have revolutionized different branches of science.The combination of these materials with polymeric tissue engineering scaffolds has advantages and disadvantages in terms of biocompatibility, biodegradation, mechanical properties and other properties. In this regard, we tried to provide a review based on introduction of these materials to the polymeric tissue engineering scaffolds and their impact on the properties of scaffolds.

Keywords:

Tissue engineering , Scaffold , Composite , Clay