Basic research Materials for engineering vascularized adipose tissue Yu-Chieh Chiu a , Ming-Huei Cheng b , Shiri Uriel a , Eric M. Brey a,c, * a Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL, USA b Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan c Research Service, Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, IL, USA KEYWORDS Biomaterials; Adipogenesis; Hydrogels; Vascularization; Tissue engineering Abstract Loss of adipose tissue can occur due to congenital and acquired lipoatro- phies, trauma, tumor resection, and chronic disease. Clinically, it is difficult to regenerate or reconstruct adipose tissue. The extensive microvsacular network present in adipose, and the sensitivity of adipocytes to hypoxia, hinder the success of typical tissue transfer procedures. Materials that promote the formation of vas- cularized adipose tissue may offer alternatives to current clinical treatment options. A number of synthetic and natural biomaterials common in tissue engi- neering have been investigated as scaffolds for adipose regeneration. While these materials have shown some promise they do not account for the unique extracel- lular microenvironment of adipose. Adipose derived hydrogels more closely approx- imate the physical and chemical microenvironment of adipose tissue, promote preadipocyte differentiation and vessel assembly in vitro, and stimulate vascular- ized adipose formation in vivo. The combination of these materials with techniques that promote rapid and stable vascularization could lead to new techniques for engineering stable, vascularized adipose tissue for clinical application. In this review we discuss materials used for adipose tissue engineering and strategies for vascularization of these scaffolds. Clinical Relevance: Materials that promote formation of vascularized adipose tissue have the potential to serve as alternatives or supplements to existing treatment options, for adipose defects or deficiencies resulting from chronic disease, lipoatro- phies, trauma, and tumor resection. ª 2009 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL 60616, USA E-mail addresses: minghueicheng@gmail.com (M.-H. Cheng), shiriwallach@gmail.com (S. Uriel), brey@iit.edu (E.M. Brey). 0965-206X/$36 ª 2009 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jtv.2009.11.005 Journal of Tissue Viability (2011) 20, 37e48 www.elsevier.com/locate/jtv