Electrospun nanofibers are a promising material for ligamentous tissue engineering, however weak mechanical properties of fibers to date have limited their clinical usage. The goal of this work was to modify electrospun nanofibers to create a robust structure that mimics the complex hierarchy of native tendons and ligaments. The scaffolds that were fabricated in this study consisted of either random or aligned nanofibers in flat sheets or rolled nanofiber bundles that mimic the size scale of fascicle units in primarily tensile load bearing soft musculoskeletal tissues. Altering nanofiber orientation and geometry significantly affected mechanical properties; most notably aligned nanofiber sheets had the greatest modulus; 125% higher than that of random nanofiber sheets; and 45% higher than aligned nanofiber bundles. Modifying aligned nanofiber sheets to form aligned nanofiber bundles also resulted in approximately 107% higher yield stresses and 140% higher yield strains. The mechanical properties of aligned nanofiber bundles were in the range of the mechanical properties of the native ACL: modulus=158±32MPa, yield stress=57±23MPa and yield strain=0.38±0.08. Adipose derived stem cells cultured on all surfaces remained viable and proliferated extensively over a 7 day culture period and cells elongated on nanofiber bundles. The results of the study suggest that aligned nanofiber bundles may be useful for ligament and tendon tissue engineering based on their mechanical properties and ability to support cell adhesion, proliferation, and elongation.

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Despite many advances in tissue engineering, there are still significant challenges associated with restructuring, repairing, or replacing damaged tissue in the body. Currently, a major obstacle has been trying to develop a scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering that provides the correct mechanical properties to endure the loads associated with articular joints as well as promote cell-scaffold interactions to aid in extracellular matrix deposition. In addition, adipogenic tissue engineering is widely growing due to an increased need for more innovative reconstructive therapies following adipose tissue traumas and cosmetic surgeries. Recently, lipoaspirate tissue has been identified as a viable alternative source for mesenchymal stem cells because it contains a supportive stroma that can easily be isolated. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) can differentiate into a variety of mesodermal lineages including the adipogenic and chondrogenic phenotypes. Biodegradable polymeric scaffolds have been shown to be a promising alternative and stem cells have been widely used to evaluate the compatibility, viability, and bioactivity of these materials. Polycaprolactone is a bioresorbable polymer, which has been widely used for biomedical and tissue engineering applications. The fundamental concept behind successful synthetic tissue-engineered scaffolds is to promote progenitor cell migration, adhesion, proliferation, and induce differentiation, extracellular matrix synthesis, and finally integration with host tissue. In this study, we investigated the adhesion, proliferation, and chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation of ADSCs on nanowire surfaces. A solvent-free gravimetric template technique was used to fabricate polycaprolactone nanowires surfaces. The results indicated that during the growth period i.e., initial 7 days of culture, the nanowire surfaces (NW) supported adhesion and proliferation of the cells that had elongated morphologies. However, cell on surfaces without nanowires had non-elongated morphologies. Further, immunofluorescence imaging of marker proteins showed that the nanowires surfaces did not appear to support chondrogenic differentiation whereas supported adipogenic differentiation of ADSCs.

Vertically aligned TiO2 nanotubes have been grown on Ti-7.5Mo by anodization and the growth of human dermal fibroblast on such nanotubes were investigated. The TiO2 nanotubes were characterized by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). To characterize the cell morphology and viability it was used a scanning electron microscope and MTT assay after 1, 4 and 7 days cell. The results showed that cell proliferation was evident over the duration of experiment, but it was higher at day 4 on polished Ti-7.5Mo.

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