Ординатура / Хирургия / Библиотека им академика М.И. Перельмана / Книга_5945_Библиотеки_им_академика_М_И_Перельмана

The traditional classification of biomaterials employed as tissue substitutes includes natural polymers, synthetic polymers, hybrid materials, and naturally derived organs and tissues[8–10]. Polysaccharides are relevant components of an ideal biomaterial for their structural properties[11–14]. However, it is important to pay attention to the fact that smaller glycans can act as xenoantigens [15, 16], in particular those exposed in animalderived prosthesis and medical devices. As often in biomedical research, the current design of biocompatible materials replacing tis­sue structure and functions takes inspiration from Nature. Polysaccharides are pre­sent in natural ECMs as glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans (PGs), whereas N and Oglycosylation cover cell surface and act as a signature to interact with proteinbased components of the ECM [3, 17, 18]. In this large plethora of actors, glycans cover a multitude of roles fundamental to finely regulating tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. Depending on the features of the organ or tissue that must be repaired or substituted, the origin of the damage (pathological or trau­matic), its morphological features and functionalities, different classes of biomateri­als can be exploited. The current approach to repair tissue damage includes both total substitution[19] or the induction of tissue regenerationexploiting biorespon­sive biomaterials able to stimulate the repair of the damaged tissue[20]. The tradi­tional substitution approach requires the use of permanent prosthesis, whereas in regenerative approaches, biodegradable biomaterials able to induce regeneration invivo or exvivo are used. In the following paragraph, we will overview the role of glycans in both approaches, presenting and discussing the devices already used in clinical applications and the strategies studied for future developments.