CHIMERIC NEOMORPHOGENESIS OF ORGANS BY CONTROLLED CELLULAR IMPLANTATION USING ARTIFICIAL MATRICES

摘要

A method and means for providing functional equivalents to organs wherein cells are grown on polymer scaffolding using cell culture techniques followed by transfer of the polymer-cell scaffold into a patient at a site appropriate for attachment, growth and function, after growth and vascularization. Once the structure is implanted and vascularization takes place, the resulting organ is a true blend of the parenchymal elements of the donated tissue and vascular and matrix elements of the host. A key element of the method is to design and construct the polymer scaffold using a material and shape that provides for attachment and growth of the cells such that adequate nutrients and oxygen are supplied to the inner layers of the cells by diffusion, until such time as implantation and vascularization occur.