Bone regenerative medicine: An emerging field with opportunities and challenges

The global prevalence of bone disorders has significantly increased and is projected to double by 2024. In many instances, addressing bone defects requires extensive surgical procedures, including bone grafting techniques that often result in prolonged healing times, a heightened risk of infection, and considerable pain, with no assurance of complete recovery. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds are emerging as a promising alternative to conventional bone grafting due to their abundant availability and absence of disease transmission. The primary aim of BTE is to encourage the regeneration of functional bone through a synergistic approach that combines biomaterials, cells, and therapeutic factors. One major challenge in this field is ensuring proper integration of the implanted biomaterials with the host tissue and promoting vascularization to provide adequate nutrients to the newly formed tissue. Additionally, factors such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioactivity, and cost-effectiveness of 3D porous scaffolds are still not optimal. This review discusses the basics of BTE and highlights the current landscape of the field, focusing on existing technological and clinical opportunities and challenges. Furthermore, it aims to illustrate the current advancements in BTE using various construction materials and recent scientific findings in the area.