Engineering Immunomodulatory Biomaterials To Tune the Inflammatory Response

Current state-of-the-art biomedical implants and tissue engineering methods promise technologies to improve or even restore the function of diseased organs. However, one of the biggest challenges to clinical success is the lack of functional integration. A series of cellular and molecular events following biomaterial implantation poses an important bottleneck for developing breakthrough solutions. With inflammation increasingly recognized as a crucial component influencing regeneration, immunomodulation or immuno-engineering has emerged as a potential solution to overcome this key challenge in regenerative medicine. We postulate possibilities to utilize biomaterial physicochemical modifications to modulate the host inflammatory response and develop strategies for effective biomaterial integration. Biomaterial-based immunomodulation strategies can significantly ameliorate the outcomes of medical implants and tissue engineering therapies.

TrendsHost response to biomaterial implantation: there is a continuous need to avoid or exclude undesired, adverse foreign-body host immune response to implanted biomaterials, representing one of the most important challenges in the biomedical sector.Novel immundomodulatory biomaterials: discovering novel biomaterials that can mitigate the foreign-body response and enhance engraftment is a new trend in the clinical translation of biomaterial and tissue engineered products.Harnessing inflammatory response: the trend is slowly shifting from developing biocompatible ‘immune-evasive’ biomaterials to ‘immune-interactive’ smart materials to harness the beneficial effects by modulating the inflammatory response towards healing and regeneration.