Hi,I am reading research on plant metabolism and I have come across the phrases quot;biosynthetic scaffoldquot; and quot;metabolic scaffoldquot;. I'm not sure what scaffold means here. I know the dictionary definition is platform, but I'm still confused what the phrases mean.Thanks.
A scaffold can be a simple platform at times, but in biology it is usually used to refer to the structures which keep cells and organs in their normal shape - more like networks of structures which form the shape of things: like a whole bunch of planks put together in a 3-dimensional lattice or network. A biosynthetic scaffold would be a structure which is made of artificial materials, which can be used to grow an organ on - like a liver for example. The natural cells colonize the artificial structure, and gradually fill it in and you have an actual organ, with an artificial structure!!
