Tissue Engineering for Wound Healing: Recent Advancements and Opportunities

Tissue engineering involves the delivery of specific cell types or cell products to damaged tissues or organs with the aim of restoring their functions through regeneration. Over the past decades, various tissue engineering approaches have been developed to address the challenges posed by wound healing, which is a significant concern for healthcare systems worldwide. In this chapter, we review the primary strategies employed in tissue engineering for cutaneous wound healing such as growth factors, scaffolds, and cellular therapies to generate biological skin substitutes. Additionally, we discuss the present advancement and opportunity in this evolving scientific research and technology. The challenge in tissue engineering lies in generating native tissue, therefore enabling the restoration of functions in both acute and chronic wounds. Tissue engineering offers a solution by integrating three core components: cells, scaffolds, and bioactive factors. Additionally, strategies such as stem cell-based therapy, gene therapy, and vascularization approaches play a crucial role in designing three-dimensional (3D) structures for the functional restoration of cutaneous tissue. Key strategies include the application of covering wounds with polymer scaffold dressing and/or native matrix, injections of cells directly into the wound site, and encapsulation of cells within the materials that are then implanted.