Biomaterials can take on many different forms and be made from many different materials. Ideally, biomaterials should have a porous structure, which means they have small holes which lets gasses, liquids, and even cells move through them, similar to the organ or tissue they aim to heal. Cells that help in healing can also be loaded into the small pores in the biomaterial. In this way, a porous biomaterial can be used to deliver cells to a damaged tissue. The biomaterial helps keep the new cells in the tissue where they are needed to promote healing. Additionally, the porous structure of the biomaterial is a lot like the "extracellular matrix," which is like the scaffolding that cells "hold on to" in the body. Biomaterials can either be used by themselves as a treatment, or, like the example above, they can be modified to contain medicine or cells to help repair damaged tissues.

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