CHAPTER 16: Photo-Mediated Biomaterial Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Recently, smart biomaterials have gained much attention owing to their desired responsive behavior to environmental changes such as pH, ions etc. Among the various smart biomaterials created by different methods, photo-mediated biomaterials are important for achieving 3D structures with precise configuration. In this chapter, a new fabrication method, 3D printing technology related to two-photon polymerization which can precisely create 3D photo-mediated biomaterial scaffolds, will be introduced. The principle of this 3D printing technique, as well as the design strategies of photo-mediated biomaterials for tissue engineering in biology will be reviewed. With the help of photo-mediated biomaterials, living cells’ functions are able to be monitored by changes in the surrounding microenvironment. A better understanding of the recent development of photo-mediated biomaterial scaffolds for tissue engineering has the potential to promote the scientific fundamentals for biological applications.