Essay - Tissue Engineering is an Interdisciplinary Field Which Utilizes the Principles...

Tissue Engineering is an interdisciplinary field which utilizes the principles of life sciences as well ***** engineering for the creation of biological substitutes or replacements that c***** heal, improve, maintain ***** restore the functions of tissues. It involves contributions from doctors, chemical engineers, cell biologists, chemists and material scientists. Since it is comparatively a new *****, t*****sue engineering has to face various challenges ahead. (Shoseyov; Levy, 2007) Tissue ***** can be utilized ***** manufacture whole tissues in vitro or outside the body. These manufactured tissues can then be used ***** transplant. These ***** be used for the repair and regeneration of ***** connective tissue structures like bone, cartilage as also ***** the replacement of skin. Tissue engineering can *****fer treatment for various diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, dia*****tes, kidney disease, chronic heart disease, liver failure and *****cer. It can ***** be used for gene therapy. ***** is estimated ***** the worldwide market for products of tissue engineering will be worth around $5 billion in ***** coming years. In addition, future estimates predict the ***** potential for this technology to be more than $10 billion by 2013. ("***** ***** and Stem Cell Technology Report 2007," *****)

The tissue engineering process involves growing a network of cells ***** the ***** to ********** tissues th*****t are fully functional. The initial group of cells may be obtained ***** donors or from the patients in whom ***** transplantation is to be perf*****med. This could make many severe medical diseases perfectly curable. For instance, an artificial pancreas grown in the laboratory by employing tissue ***** techniques and transplanted in a p*****tient could make Type I dia*****tes perfectly curable. (Gazit, 2006)

One of the ways in which a tissue could be ***** in ***** is by a "***** printing" technique. ***** technique ***** deposition ***** proteins on v*****rious surfaces in the form of microscopic patterns. Several chunks of clear silic*****e rubber with an array of microscopic lines imprinted on it are arr*****ged in a Petri d*****h. Next, a liquid c*****taining fibronectin (a common protein) is applied onto each "stamp." A thin layer ***** th***** protein is formed as it dries up on the silicone surface. Now each stamp is pressed onto a round glass coverslip ***** ***** also silicone-coated. The proteins on ***** raised portion of the microscopic array get transferred onto ***** silicone film of the coverslip in a similar pattern. The process is repeated with every stamp. Now the coverslips are immersed ***** a solution of young developing cells of ***** target ***** harvested from the donor. These ***** stick on to the fibr*****ectin in organized lines. The entire solution containing the coverslips and the cells are placed in an *****cubator. The young cells slowly start developing along ***** protein ***** during the next few days. These protein lines help in ***** alignment of cells otherwise they would clash with ***** other as they developed if ***** in a disorg*****nized manner. (Bullis, 2008)

The new tissue is now removed ***** the