One of the most frequent problems facing human health care, is the loss or failure of organs or tissues. As a

result, there is a need for novel, innovating technologies in the field of regenerative medicine. The proposed

project aims at developing the optimal tissue engineering scaffold (i.e. the closest mimic of the extracellular

matrix) by (a) combining the mechanical tailoring possibilities of synthetic polymers with the biomimetic

properties of natural materials; (b) controlling the scaffold architecture both on the microscale as well as on the

nanolevel by applying a state-of-the-art polymer processing device (i.e. SpiPlot) merging the possibilities of the

Bioplotter technology with the potential of an electrospinning device in one scaffold.

As a first material class, various biopolymers including glycosaminoglycans and proteins will be combined in

one ideal matrix. To ensure their stability under physiological conditions, a series of carefully selected

biopolymers will be modified with crosslinkable moieties using different modification strategies. When hard

tissue repair is aimed at, the above-mentioned biopolymers will be combined with synthetic polymers (eg

polyesters).

Biocompatibility assays will enable to feedback both to the material selection and modification as well as to the

polymer processing.