Medical application of decellularized tissue-polymer complex

Decellularized tissues have broad applications as implantable biomaterials and/or biological scaffolds for tissue repair. They show good clinical performance. Decellularized tissue is the extracellular matrix (ECM) that can be obtained by several techniques. Decellularized tissue characteristics, such as shape, structure, mechanical properties, and biological activity, are strongly affected by the decellularization protocol. The orthotopic implantation of decellularized tissues, a common procedure, typically induces cell infiltration and ECM reconstruction resulting in tissues that resemble the source tissues. The ectopic implantation of decellularized tissues results in reconstruction that is either adapted to the implantation site or to the decellularized tissue source. In this study, the differences between methods are discussed. In addition, new methods aimed at extending the applications of decellularized tissues are discussed, particularly methods that confer novel functions to decellularized tissues by polymer complexing, such as devices that link native tissues with artificial materials using decellularized tissue as an intermediate.