Isolation and Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone-Marrow Progenitor Cells for Application in Tissue Engineering

One of the most widely studied bone-tissue engineering approaches involves the seeding and extended in vitro culturing of cells within a biodegradable scaffold prior to implantation. The bioresorbable scaffold must be biocompatible and porous in order to facilitate rapid vascularization and growth of newly formed tissue (1–8). During the in vitro culture period, the seeded cells proliferate and secrete tissue-specific extracellular matrix (ECM). The selection of the scaffold material, which should exhibit an adequate three-dimensional (3D) porous structure, is a primary consideration in matrix- and cell-based bone-tissue engineering strategies (9).