Synthetic and Biologic Materials for Prosthetic and Reconstructive Applications for Musculoskeletal Tissue

Dear Colleagues,

Musculoskeletal tissue is a complex system that comprises bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament, and muscle, as well as their interfaces, and mainly supports body shape, structure, and locomotion. Over the years, several materials have been evaluated as an option for musculoskeletal apparatus defect repair and regeneration. Commonly used natural materials for tissue replacement include autografts and allografts. Although they possess structure, composition, and mechanical properties similar to those of the host tissue, the limited availability of autografts, and the risk of potential disease transmission associated with allografts, has pushed scientists to search for alternative graft options both in terms of synthetic and biological materials. In addition, most musculoskeletal substitutes are formed as a composite of allografts, such as bone chips, demineralized bone matrix, and one or more materials from an extensive list that includes degradable and non-degradable polymers, xenografts as calcified matrices, bioactive glass, acellularized matrices, collagen, and silk. Moreover, forces exerted on the implant materials consist of tensile, compressive, or shear components. Because the musculoskeletal apparatus can modify its structure in response to forces exerted on it, implant materials must be designed to account for this. Another relevant issue deals with the integration of natural or synthetic substitutes with host tissue, which was found to be jeopardized in several long-term follow-up studies. Hence, the enhancement of biological host-integration properties and the mechanical characteristics of implants require a multidisciplinary approach in order to obtain comprehensive knowledge of grafts that can be safely and effectively used for musculoskeletal tissue engineering. Biocompatibility, degradability, mechanical integrity, and the ability to deliver inductive factors and cells are just a few of the issues needing to be addressed for reconstructive purposes. Therefore, in this Special Issue we aim to stimulate researchers around the world to share their interesting and promising works on various aspects of natural grafts and biomaterials, or a combination of both, for musculoskeletal tissue engineering protocols. To this aim, we invite original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and significant preliminary communications. Contributions describing current challenges and future outlook on emerging reconstructive and regenerative applications for bone, cartilage, muscle, tendon and ligaments are also welcome.

Dr. Dante Dallari
Dr. Marco Govoni
Guest Editors

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