A. NEAGU*, MONICA NEAGU*, G. FORGACS**

*Department of Biophysics and Medical Informatics, “Victor Babeş” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2, P-ţa Eftimie Murgu, 300041 Timişoara, Romania
**Department of Physics and Biology, University of Missouri-Columbia, 223 Physics Bldg., Columbia, MO, 65211, U.S.A.

Abstract. Tissue engineering is a rapidly developing field of biomedical research that aims to repair, replace or regenerate damaged tissues. It exploits biological morphogenesis, which is an example of self-assembly, an ubiquitous natural phenomenon that gives birth to a large variety of structures in both living and inanimate systems. Computer programs that incorporate well-established principles of developmental biology are able to predict the evolution of certain living tissues. This encouraging fact raised the question if computational biology may draw reliable guidelines for tissue engineering. Relying on the state of the art of the literature and on our own results, the present review tries to answer this question. The available data leads us to the conclusion that a computational approach to tissue engineering may successfully complement experimental work.

Corresponding author’s e-mail: aneagu@medinfo.umft.ro

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