In this study, we present a promising approach for the rapid development of porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) scaffold prototypes, with outer geometry defined from the design stage, according to the form of conventional implants or adapted to patients' biostructures. The manufacture method is based on phase separation processes using materials obtained by casting within additive rapid prototyped molds. We include a comparative study of PDMS sponges obtained by different simple processes. Final in vitro assessment is carried out using hMSCs (bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells), cultured onto porous PDMS scaffolds functionalized with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) and equilibrated with a trophic factors medium produced by the cells. Results show that porous PDMS scaffold prototypes are excellent 3D platforms for hMSCs adhesion. Furthermore, this PDMS-3D niche, seeded with hMSCs and chondrogenic incubation medium during three weeks, showed a successful chondrogenesis determined by collagen type II expression. Thus, results show a versatile method to produce a 3D niche to address questions about cartilage and endochondral bone formation or skeleton tissues clinical approaches.
Tissue engineering is a rapidly evolving field in which the complexity of biomaterials and biostructures, with typically non-Euclidean or fractal-like geometries, has to be adequately taken into account for the promotion of enhanced and even personalized diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. This study covers the main applications of fractals in the field of tissue engineering, including their advantages for modeling biological processes and cell-culture procedures, but specially focusing on their benefits for describing the complex geometries and structures of biomaterials (both natural and synthetic), many of which have potential uses for the development of cell culture microsystems, scaffolds for tissue repair and implants for tissue repair in general. We also explore the main supporting design, simulation and manufacturing technologies, as well as the most remarkable difficulties and limitations linked to the generalized use of fractals in engineering design, and also detail some current solution proposals and future directions.
Abstract-This paper presents an innovative procedure, capable to automatically generate virtual environments which are applicable to art galleries, museums or similar facilities, and suitable for web-based promotions of artists and their works. The presented system is part of the outcome of an interdisciplinary research for low-cost and platform independent solutions to combine art with virtual reality with the aim to promote artist works through new interaction metaphors which include dynamic 3D visualization of works of art with associated structured multimedia information.In detail, we present the resulting low-cost and platform independent VRML-based architecture for the automatic generation of user-customized virtual visits in 3D of art galleries based on XML descriptions.As the VRML standard presents a lack of flexibility when customizing the scenarios according to special user interests, which could be different in every session, we propose a new strategy consisting in decoupling the associated multimedia information from the geometrical description of the presented artworks. This approach provides an external management of those contents, hence overcoming the identified limitation, while additionally increasing design efficiency and content adaptability.Artworks, art galleries, adaptive virtual scenes, web technology, user customized virtual environment, low-cost, platform independent, VRML, XML, metaphors
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