Abstract
Biomaterials play essential roles in modern strategies in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering by designable biophysical and biochemical cues that direct cellular behavior and function. The guidance provided by biomaterials may improve restoration and function of damaged or nonfunctional tissues both in cell-based therapies, such as those where carriers deliver transplanted cells or matrices induce morphogenesis in bioengineered tissues constructed ex vivo, and in cellular therapies, such as those where materials induce growth and differentiation of cells from healthy residual tissues in situ.