结合细胞遗传工程和化学工程以创造器官和组织如:皮肤、骨头、心脏瓣膜和软骨关节的技术。例如,骨生长因子或干细胞可以在孔状物质中生长,产生颌或四肢。在另一个例子中,可以制造新的微小器官;从猪的身上纯化出产生胰岛素的胰岛细胞装入用特殊膜做成的胶囊然后送到糖尿病患者的腹部。这些细胞受到合成膜的保护而不会被免疫系统拒绝,但同时又可以在生理状态下释放胰岛素。同样肝细胞可以装入胶囊产生小的肝。最后,取代损坏软骨关节或可导入虚弱组织壁的合成物质也正在开发中。
Technology combining genetic engineering of cells with chemical engineering to create artificial organs and tissues such as skin, bone, heart valves, and cartilage for joints. For example, bone growth factors or stem cells can be grown within a porous material (cut to shape) to create new jaws or limbs. In a second example, new miniorgans can be created; Islet cells that produce insulin have been purified from pigs and encapsulated in a special membrane before introduction into the abdomen of diabetic patients. These cells are protected from immune rejection by the synthetic membrane, but can release insulin in a physiological manner. Similarly, liver cells can be encapsulated to generate mini-livers. Finally, synthetic materials that can replace damaged cartilage in joints or that can be introduced into weakened tissue walls are also under development.