The fabrication of scaffolds for tissue engineering requires elements of customization depending on the application and is often limited due to the flexibility of the processing technique. This investigation seeks to address this obstacle by utilizing an open-source three-dimensional printing (3DP) system that allows vast customizability and facilitates reproduction of experiments. The effects of processing parameters on printed poly(e-caprolactone) scaffolds with uniform and gradient pore architectures have been characterized with respect to fiber and pore morphology and mechanical properties. The results demonstrate the ability to tailor the fiber diameter, pore size, and porosity through modification of pressure, printing speed, and programmed fiber spacing. A model was also used to predict the compressive mechanical properties of uniform and gradient scaffolds, and it was found that modulus and yield strength declined with increasing porosity. The use of open-source 3DP technologies for printing tissue-engineering scaffolds provides a flexible system that can be readily modified at a low cost and is supported by community documentation. In this manner, the 3DP system is more accessible to the scientific community, which further facilitates the translation of these technologies toward successful tissue-engineering strategies.
Tissue engineering is developing into a less speculative science involving the careful interplay of numerous design parameters and multidisciplinary professionals. Problem solving abilities and state of the art research tools are required to develop solutions for a wide variety of clinical issues. One area of particular interest is orthopedic biomechanics, a field that is responsible for the treatment of over 700,000 vertebral fractures in the United States alone last year. Engineers are currently lacking the technology and knowledge required to govern the subsistence of cells in vivo, let alone the knowledge to create a functional tissue replacement for a whole organ. Despite this, advances in computer-aided tissue engineering are continually growing. Using a combinatory approach to scaffold design, patient-specific implants may be constructed. Computer-aided design, optimization of geometry using voxel finite element models or other optimization routines, creation of a library of architectures with specific material properties, rapid prototyping, and determination of a defect site using imaging modalities highlight the current availability of design resources. This study proposes a novel methodology from start to finish which could, in the future, be used to design a tissue-engineered construct for the replacement of an entire vertebral body.
Soft tissue engineering strategies targeting restoration of volume loss have inherent critical challenges as they relate to the problem of restoration of defects with a high volume to surface ratio. We outline the problems associated with the limitations of translational applications regarding soft tissue engineering strategies as follows: cell survival, mechanical challenges: macroenvironment (scaffold collapse and on-the-shelf availability), compositional considerations: microenvironment, inducing malignant behavior, cell migration, and cell exhaustion. These are discussed with our alternative suggestions for solutions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.