Areas of Demand for Pharmacology in Regenerative Medicine
Challenge | Pharmacological approach |
---|---|
Control of cell expansion and differentiation | Use of growth factors, cytokines, hormones, neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Pharmacological evaluation of cellular phenotype and function. |
Fabrication of cell/tissue specific functional scaffolds | Incorporation of pharmacological agents that provide enhanced cellular and tissue function. |
Accelerated maturation and function of engineered tissues in vitro | Use of growth factors, cytokines, hormones, neurotransmitters and neuromodulators for maximized tissue function. Pharmacological assessment of tissue development process. Combined use of pharmacological agents with other enabling technologies (i.e., bio-reactors) for accelerated tissue formation and assessment. |
Integration of engineered tissue in vivo (e.g., establishment of vascular and neural network) | Use of nanotechnologies (i.e., controlled drug delivery) and materials sciences to create biocompatible “smart” scaffolds that facilitate accelerated tissue integration. |
Functional evaluation and monitoring of engineered tissues in vivo | Integrative and organ systems pharmacology in preclinical studies. Integration of pharmacological approaches to imaging and functional assessment modalities. |
Optimization of the tissue engineering process and improvement of tissue function in vivo | Pharmacological agents to enhance the performance of integrated engineered tissue. Pharmacological characterization of phenotype and function of retrieved tissues. |