Laminar tendon composites with enhanced mechanical properties

Abstract

Purpose A strong isotropic material that is both biocompatible and biodegradable is desired for many biomedical applications, including rotator cuff repair, tendon and ligament repair, vascular grafting, among others. Recently, we developed a technique, called “bioskiving” to create novel 2D and 3D constructs from decellularized tendon, using a combination of mechanical sectioning, and layered stacking and rolling. The unidirectionally aligned collagen nanofibers (derived from sections of decellularized tendon) offer good mechanical properties to the constructs compared with those fabricated from reconstituted collagen. Methods In this paper, we studied the effect that several variables have on the mechanical properties of structures fabricated from tendon slices, including crosslinking density and the orientation in which the fibers are stacked. Results We observed that following stacking and crosslinking, the strength of the constructs is significantly improved, with crosslinked sections having an ultimate tens ile strength over 20 times greater than non-crosslinked samples, and a modulus nearly 50 times higher. The mechanism of the mechanical failure mode of the tendon constructs with or without crosslinking was also investigated. Conclusions The strength and fiber organization, combined with the ability to introduce transversely isotropic mechanical properties makes the laminar tendon composites a biocompatiable material that may find future use in a number of biomedical and tissue engineering applications.

Evaluation of an elastic decellularized tendon‐derived scaffold for the vascular tissue engineering application

“…In this study, we showed that by adding the bovine elastin to the scaffolds, the extensibility and Young's modulus of the scaffolds were significantly changed. We also showed in a previous study that the addition of glutaraldehyde improved the strength of the scaffolds significantly . Moreover, reduction of the scaffold modulus by addition of elastin was also shown in previous studies .…”

“…We also showed in a previous study that the addition of glutaraldehyde improved the strength of the scaffolds significantly. 37 Moreover, reduction of the scaffold modulus by addition of elastin was also shown in previous studies. 9,38 However, it is not clear yet what mechanisms are involved in the reduction of the modulus, and should be explored in the future studies.…”

The Construction of Biomimetic Cementum Through a Combination of Bioskiving and Fluorine-Containing Biomineralization

“…Collagen section was fabricated according to the previous method with modification (Alberti et al, 2015). Briefly, bovine Achilles tendons were cut into blocks and decellularized in a 1 mM Tris buffer containing 1% w/v sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.1 mM ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid.…”

“…After stacking, the surface of alternative collagen lamellae (ACL) was covered and fixed by another PTFE block prior to immersed in deionized water for 10 min. Subsequently, the ACL fixed by PTFE blocks was taken out and dried in the air for 48 h. The stacked collagen sections were crosslinked by the hydrogen bond (Alberti et al, 2015).…”

“…Since tendon is composed of type I collagen fiber with well-aligned structure, tendon-derived collagen sheet produced via sectioning process is characterized by highly parallel fibers. Notably, the multi-sheeted construct can be further built through stacking sheets on top of each other and reorienting adjacent sheets at the desired angle to tune the mechanical property of the constructs (Alberti et al, 2015). Interestingly, the hierarchical structure of this construct presents somewhat similarity to the alternating lamellar structure in cementum (Reznikov et al, 2014).…”