Mechanically-enhanced three-dimensional scaffold with anisotropic morphology for tendon regeneration

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine Vol. 27; no. 7; pp. 115 - 10
• Main Authors: Wu, Yang, Wang, Zuyong, Fuh, Jerry Ying Hsi, Wong, Yoke San, Wang, Wilson, Thian, Eng San
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.07.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alignment; Anisotropy; Biocompatibility Studies; Biomaterials; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedical materials; Cell Differentiation; Cells, Cultured; Ceramics; Chemistry and Materials Science; Collagen Type I - chemistry; Composites; Extracellular Matrix - chemistry; Fibers; Glass; Human; Humans; Hydrodynamics; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Natural Materials; Patellar Ligament - pathology; Polyesters - chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Porosity; Pressure; Regeneration; Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering; Scaffolds; Stress, Mechanical; Surfaces and Interfaces; Tendons; Tendons - cytology; Tendons - pathology; Tendons - physiopathology; Tensile Strength; Thin Films; Three dimensional; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; Ultimate Tensile Stress; Outer Portion; Actin Stress Fiber; Tendon Tissue; Electrospun Fiber
• ISSN: 0957-4530; 1573-4838
• DOI: 10.1007/s10856-016-5728-z

Tissue engineering has showed promising results in restoring diseased tendon tissue functions. Herein, a hybrid three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffold comprising an outer portion rolled from an electrohydrodynamic jet printed poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) fiber mesh, and an inner portion fabricated from uniaxial stretching of a heat-sealed PCL tube, was developed for tendon tissue engineering (TE) application. The outer portion included three layers of micrometer-scale fibrous bundles (fiber diameter: ~25 µm), with an interconnected spacing and geometric anisotropy along the scaffold length. The inner portion showed orientated micro-ridges/grooves in a parallel direction to that of the outer portion. Owning to the addition of the inner portion, the as-fabricated scaffold exhibited comparable mechanical properties to those of the human patellar tendon in terms of Young’s modulus (~227 MPa) and ultimate tensile stress (~50 MPa). Compared to the rolled electrospun fibers, human tenocytes cultured in the tendon scaffolds showed increased cellular metabolism. Furthermore, the 3D tendon scaffold resulted in up-regulated cell alignment, cell elongation and formation of collagen type I. These results demonstrated the potential of mechanically-enhanced 3D fibrous scaffold for applications in tendon TE, with desired cell alignment and functional differentiation.