Development of polymer nanosheets inspired by extracellular matrix towards tissue engineering applications

Along with the development of regenerative medicine represented by stem cell engineering, tissue engineering is expected to be a promising technology for the replacement or treatment of diseased tissues and organs. Conventional cell transplantation has been achieved by harvesting autologous cells derived from the patients or stem cells. However, considering the long term process of cell culture in a sterile environment, it is crucial to develop new biomaterials that enhance the regeneration of damaged tissue by directing cellular organization. To this end, the authors focused on structure and function of extracellular matrix (ECM) at subcellular scale (tens to hundreds of nanometers), and envisioned to recapitulate the microstructure of ECM on a polymeric ultrathin film (nanosheet). In this paper, I introduce the fabrication and functionalization of nanosheets by integrating self-assembly of biomacromolecules and microfabrication techniques towards tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.