Bioactive hydrogel-based scaffolds for the regeneration of dental pulp tissue

Abstract

Abstract Regenerative medicine is a promising and fast growing field of science and thechnology, which has raised great hope for the treatment of defective cells/tissues, and even complex organs. Upon the interdisciplinary nature of the cell-based modalities, the main goal is to transform the treatment strategies towards precision medicine by developing new functional tissues, replacing/restoring the defective/damaged tissues. To attain the best clinical outcomes, the safe delivery of cell-based medicines such as stem cells with the highest efficiency to the defective/damaged regions is of paramount necessity. The efficient delivery of cells to a given site of the body demands the use of highly safe and biocompatible scaffolds, which should ideally provide a permissive milieu for the embodied cells. Such scaffolds should grant safe injectability and supply the incorporated cells and target microenvironment instantaneously with the required substances. To date, much attention has been paid to the hydrogel-based scaffolds mainly due to their unique features such as safety and biocompatibility, cost-effectiveness, ease of manufacturing and modifications, flexibility in application, simplicity in diverse synthesis, and efficient cellular adhesion with natural constituents. Hydrogels can be used to serve as a delivery carrier for stem cells such as human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) to restore dentin/pulp tissue damages. The present review aims to provide a deep insight into the current knowledge of hydrogel scaffolds incorporated with stem cells, impart on the recent advancement in stem cell-based treatment modalities in pulp and dental tissue engineering, and discuss their preparation methods and applications.