Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The choice of scaffold materials in heart valve tissue engineering plays a vital role, which affects the construction of tissue-engineered heart valve.
OBJECTIVE: To review the advantages and disadvantages of tissue engineered heart valve scaffold materials.
METHODS: A computer based search was performed for articles about biomaterials and tissue engineered heart valve published from January 1993 to October 2009 with the keywords of “tissue engineering, heart valves, scaffold material, biocompatibility” in Chinese and English. Repetitive studies and Meta analysis were excluded.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Synthetic polymer materials with greater controllability can be pre-plastic. The pore size and porosity of the synthetic polymer materials is easy to control, and the cost is low based on mass production. Natural biomaterials and synthetic polymers have their own shortcomings. Artificial biodegradable materials combined with natural materials can build an excellent tissue-engineered heart valve. The tissue-engineered heart valve has a good prospect, but its clinical application requires further studies. With the development and modification of scaffold materials and preparation methods, tissue engineered heart valves will benefit the majority of patients with heart valve diseases.