Scaffolds lie at the heart of all the new tissue engineering approaches because they not only provide mechanical support for embedded cells but also regulate various cellular behaviors by recruiting specific biomolecules or growth factors. Polymeric scaffolds are one of the most widely used scaffold types because of their satisfactory formability, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and controllable biodegradability.

To date, polymeric scaffolds have been largely applied to repair hard and soft tissues. However, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed, such as the development of satisfactory processing techniques so as to achieve homogeneous structure and composition throughout the scaffolds and to obtain well-defined internal structures with interconnected porosity to host most cell types. Moreover, additional studies are desired to figure out how to create desirable polymeric scaffolds that serve various functions, including immobilization of transplanted cells, formation of a protective space to prevent unwanted tissue growth into the wound bed while allowing healing with differentiated tissue, and directing migration or growth of cells via scaffold surface properties or via release of soluble bioactive molecules such as growth factors, hormones, and/or cytokines.

We invite investigators to submit original research and review articles that will motivate further investigations into the polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Selection or fabrication of novel polymers to prepare polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering
• Design and fabrication of novel polymeric scaffolds for hard tissue repair
• Design and fabrication of novel polymeric scaffolds for soft tissue repair
• Efforts to obtain well-defined homogeneous internal structures with interconnected porosity throughout the polymeric scaffolds
• Biocompatibility of the polymeric scaffolds and interactions of polymeric scaffolds with natural tissues
• Novel polymeric scaffolds functionalized with different bioactivities
• In vitro or in vivo investigations into the biodegradation of the polymeric scaffolds under external stimulation, such as force and electricity
• Instrumentation and technology to analyze the interactions between polymers and cells and other materials or molecules in the polymeric scaffolds

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijps/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ijps/pste/ according to the following timetable: