Degradation behaviors of geometric cues and mechanical properties in a 3D scaffold for tendon repair

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) scaffold fabricated via electrohydrodynamic jet printing (E-jetting) and thermally uniaxial stretching, has been developed for tendon tissue regeneration in our previous study. In this study, more in-depth biological test showed that the aligned cell morphology guided by the anisotropic geometries of the 3D tendon scaffolds, leading to up-regulated tendious gene expression including collagen type I, decorin, tenascin-C, and biglycan, as compared to the electrospun scaffolds. Given the importance of geometric cues to the biological function of the scaffolds, the degradation behaviors of the 3D scaffolds were investigated. Results from accelerated hydrolysis showed that the E-jetted portion followed bulk-controlled erosion, while the unaixially stretched portion followed surface-controlled erosion. The 3D tendon scaffold exhibited consistency between the weight loss and the decline of mechanical properties, which indicated by a 65% decrease in mass with a corresponding 56% loss in ultimate tensile strength after degradation. This study not only reveals that the anisotropic geometries of 3D tendon scaffold could affect cell morphology and lead to desired gene expression toward tendon tissue but also gives an insight into how the degradation impacts geometric cues and mechanical properties of the as-fabricated scaffold. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 1138-1149, 2017.

Fibre-based scaffolding techniques for tendon tissue engineering

“…In addition, silk possesses Young's modulus in the scale of GPa and ultimate tensile stress of hundreds of MPa, which are several orders higher than other natural biomaterials (Vepari & Kaplan, ). The major constrain of silk in tendon TE application is its slow degradation rate and mismatch between weight loss and decline of mechanical properties (Fang, Chen, Yang, & Li, ; Wu, Wong, & Fuh, ). In some cases, chitosan and hyaluronan are also used to adjust the biological functions of the tendon scaffolds (Funakoshi, Majima, Iwasaki, Suenaga, et al, ; Laranjeira et al, ).…”

“…Our group has developed a 3D porous scaffold for tendon TE application, comprising two portions (i.e., inner and outer portions; Wu, Fuh, Wong, & Sun, ; Y. Wu et al, ; Wu, Wong, & Fuh, ). The outer portion rolled from an e‐jetted PCL fibre mesh and comprised a tubular multilayered structure with aligned microfibres (~25 μm) and large pores (~110 × 2,000 μm; Figure d).…”

“…In addition, silk possesses Young's modulus in the scale of GPa and ultimate tensile stress of hundreds of MPa, which are several orders higher than other natural biomaterials (Vepari & Kaplan, 2007). The major constrain of silk in tendon TE application is its slow degradation rate and mismatch between weight loss and decline of mechanical properties (Fang, Chen, Yang, & Li, 2009;Wu, Wong, & Fuh, 2017c).…”

Ratiometric Fluorescent Microgels for Sensing Extracellular Microenvironment pH during Biomaterial Degradation

“… 45 , 46 Additional insightful mechanistic information for the degradable biomaterial could therefore be elucidated by exploring the dynamic pH change at the material interface in a spatially resolved route. 47 , 48 More importantly, additional probes could be integrated into PU MGs for wider application. With the loading of near-infrared pH fluorescent probes, in vivo microenvironment investigation could be realized.…”

Do There Exist Innovative Perspectives in Tissue Engineering-Based Ligament Reconstruction?

“…10,11 Scaffolds for ligament tissue engineering can be produced by various techniques such as braiding, embroidering, 3D printing, electrospinning, electro hydrodynamic jet printing and combinations of them. 6,10,[12][13][14][15] Aligned, interwoven and multilayered composite structures most likely reflect the natural aligned ligament ultrastructure and biomechanics. 10 Subsequently, an extensive biomaterial testing is necessary starting with the pure material to evaluate crucial parameters such as hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, degradation, permeability, porosity, interconnectivity, surface texture and biomechanics.…”