Existing biomaterials often lack some of these requirements and can cause complications, such as:

Encapsulation
Many implanted biomaterials used for tissue repair produce a foreign body reaction leading to encapsulation that results in non-functional, rigid, fibrous scar tissue.

Dissolved Support
Implanted biomaterials can be incompatible with surrounding tissues leading to breakdown of the material, tissue erosion, or adhesion formation.

In an attempt to overcome these problems, complex, cellular tissue composites are being engineered in the laboratory, but these biomaterials are expensive, difficult to store, and raise concerns about cell-borne pathogens.

Remodeled Tissue
The ideal biomaterial must allow tissue incorporation and result in remodeled, functional tissue without leading to encapsulation, breakdown of the material, tissue erosion, or adhesion formation.

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