Hydrogel-Based Tissue-Mimics for Vascular Regeneration and Tumor Angiogenesis
The vital role of structurally and functionally stable vasculature in engineered tissues is well-established in regenerative medicine. Large-volume, natural, and synthetic tissue constructs require a high degree of perfusion and nutrient diffusion to meet the physiological demands of the encapsulated cells. Additionally, cancer tissue models fabricated using various scaffolds and matrices also need to incorporate tumor-mimetic abnormal vasculature to study the influence of angiogenesis on tumor growth, progression, and anti-cancer drug delivery. In this chapter, prominent hydrogel-based matrices that have been developed for vascular tissue engineering as well as modeling of the tumor vasculature and angiogenesis are discussed. Various microenvironmental considerations (including biophysical and biochemical characteristics of the matrix) required for emulating vascular regeneration as well as tumor angiogenesis are described. A wide range of hydrogel-based models (including natural, synthetic and hybrid materials) and associated biofabrication strategies (spanning molecular design to macroscale materials processing) for creating vascularized scaffolds are elaborated. Overall, this chapter provides an overview to the reader on creation of engineered scaffolds for implementation in tissue vascularization and repair and in disease models for future applications in drug testing.