Nanostructured Membranes for the Engineering of Organs and Tissues

In order to mimic natural tissues, nanotechnology and nanomaterials have become the center of interest in the field of organ and tissue repair and regeneration. Nanostructured membranes have great properties, including controlled composition, size, geometry, morphology, mechanical properties, and surface functionality, which make them suitable for creating novel tissue-engineered constructs. Research results have shown that nanostructured membranes can be tuned to control cell behaviors at multiple levels, including adhesion, migration, proliferation, signaling, genetic expression, and stem cell fate. This chapter reports the recent advances in the realization of bioengineered tissue substitutes by using nanostructured membrane systems.