Soft tissue fillers for adipose tissue regeneration: from hydrogel development toward clinical applications

Publication date: Available online 20 September 2017
Source:Acta Biomaterialia
Author(s): I. Van Nieuwenhove, L. Tytgat, M. Ryx, P. Blondeel, F. Stillaert, H. Thienpont, H. Ottevaere, P. Dubruel, S. Van Vlierberghe
There is a clear and urgent clinical need to develop soft tissue fillers that outperform the materials currently used for adipose tissue reconstruction. Recently, extensive research has been performed within this field of adipose tissue engineering as the commercially available products and the currently existing techniques are concomitant with several disadvantages. Commercial products are highly expensive and associated with an imposing need for repeated injections. Lipofilling or free fat transfer has an unpredictable outcome with respect to cell survivalandpotential resorption of the fat grafts. Therefore, researchers arepredominantly investigating two challenging adipose tissue engineering strategies: in situ injectable materials and porous 3D printed scaffolds.The present work provides an overview of current research encompassing synthetic, biopolymer-based, and extracellular matrix-derived materials, with a clear focus on emerging fabrication technologies and developments realized throughout the last decade. Moreover, clinical relevance of the most promising materials will be discussed, together with potential concerns associated with their application in the clinic.

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