Page 265 - Advances in Biomechanics and Tissue Regeneration

262 13. MULTIDIMENSIONAL BIOMECHANICS APPROACHES

FIG. 13.3 (A) Representative images of the different stimuli provided by the scaffolds and (B) representative images of preosteoblast culture after
72h on PVDF-TrFE nonpoled (A, none stimuli), PVDF-TrFE/TD nonpoled (B, mechanical stimuli), and PVDF-TrFE/TD “poled +” (C, mechano-
electric stimuli) scaffolds with static and dynamic conditions. Scale bar¼200μm. (Reproduced with permission from C. Ribeiro, V. Correia, P. Martins,
F.M. Gama, S. Lanceros-Mendez, Proving the suitability of magnetoelectric stimuli for tissue engineering applications, Colloids Surf. B 140 (2016) 430–436.)

13.5 CONCLUSIONS

It was demonstrated that the application of electrical and/or mechanical stimuli can improve the regeneration suc-
cess of different cell/tissues, mimicking in vivo electromechanical microenvironments and allowing the development
of novel tissue engineering strategies. A large variety of materials is already available, and several proof-of-concept
investigations indicate the suitability of this approach. Nevertheless, further investigation is needed to perfectly match
the suitable microenvironment for different cell types, including the right combination of biophysical and biochemical
stimuli for proper tissue regeneration.

Acknowledgments
¸
The authors thank the Fundacão para a Ci^ encia e Tecnologia (FCT) for the financial support under framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/
04650/2013, project PTDC/EEI-SII/5582/2014, and project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028237. SR, MMF, and CR also thank the FCT for the grants
SFRH/BD/111478/2015, SFRH/BPD/121464/2016, and SFRH/BPD/90870/2012, respectively. Finally the authors acknowledge funding by the
Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the project MAT2016-76039-C4-3-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and from the Basque
Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK and HAZITEK program.

II. MECHANOBIOLOGY AND TISSUE REGENERATION