Mimicking the nanostructure of bone matrix to regenerate bone.

Key features of bone tissue structure and composition are capable of directing cellular behavior toward the generation of new bone tissue. Bone tissue, as well as materials derived from bone, have a long and successful history of use as bone grafting materials. Recent developments in design and processing of synthetic scaffolding systems has allowed the replication of the bone's desirable biological activity in easy to fabricate polymeric materials with nano-scale features exposed on the surface. The biological response to these new tissue-engineering scaffold materials oftentimes exceeds that seen on scaffolds produced using biological materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]