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• Small molecules have been proposed as alternatives to regenerate bone tissue. • Small molecule drug dose can often be reduced while still achieving effective therapeutic. • The potential to improve bone repair by making it safer, easier, and more cost-effective with the use of a small molecule delivered in the short-term. Osteogenic small molecules have been adapted as one of the encouraging approaches to regenerate bone tissue. Small molecules used long term will usually result in adverse effects. A novel approach is short-term treatment with osteogenic small molecules. Demonstrating effectiveness for regenerating bone with a short-term treatment or a single-dose administration of osteogenic small molecules could enhance safety by reducing adverse effects. Over the past few years, many small molecules with the potential of regenerating bone tissue have been reported when used for short-term or single-dose administration. Here, I review the relevant literature, paying particular attention to prospects for small molecule-mediated bone regeneration with short-term exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone scientists are actively investigating a range of methods to promote skeletal tissue regeneration. A review of recent literature has revealed that several ions are uniquely capable of inducing stem cell differentiation down desired lineages. There exists enormous promise for these ions to be used in bone regenerative medicine. Given that these ions can be released from biodegradable polymeric materials, their long-term delivery can be achieved through a variety of controlled-release strategies compared with the relatively few options available for expensive and fragile polypeptide-based growth factors. In this review, we highlight the developments in using ions in conjunction with biomaterials for bone regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Regenerative engineering has been recently proposed to regenerate skeletal tissue. [•] Regenerative small molecules play a vital role in bone regenerative engineering. [•] Numerous small molecules have been recently discovered for bone regeneration. [•] Polymeric scaffolds play an important role to delivery small molecules in vivo. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]