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Freeze‐Drying as a Novel Biofabrication Method for Achieving a Controlled Microarchitecture within Large, Complex Natural Biomaterial Scaffolds
Author(s) -
Brougham Claire M.,
Levingstone Tanya J.,
Shen Nian,
Cooney Gerard M.,
Jockenhoevel Stefan,
Flanagan Thomas C.,
O'Brien Fergal J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced healthcare materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.288
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2192-2659
pISSN - 2192-2640
DOI - 10.1002/adhm.201700598
Subject(s) - biofabrication , scaffold , biomaterial , materials science , tissue engineering , porosity , process (computing) , freeze drying , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , computer science , composite material , chemistry , engineering , chromatography , operating system
The biofabrication of large natural biomaterial scaffolds into complex 3D shapes which have a controlled microarchitecture remains a major challenge. Freeze‐drying (or lyophilization) is a technique used to generate scaffolds in planar 3D geometries. Here we report the development of a new biofabrication process to form a collagen‐based scaffold into a large, complex geometry which has a large height to width ratio, and a controlled porous microarchitecture. This biofabrication process is validated through the successful development of a heart valve shaped scaffold, fabricated from a collagen‐glycosaminoglycan co‐polymer. Notably, despite the significant challenges in using freeze‐drying to create such a structure, the resultant scaffold has a uniform, homogenous pore architecture throughout. This is achieved through optimization of the freeze‐drying mold and the freezing parameters. We believe this to be the first demonstration of using freeze‐drying to create a large, complex scaffold geometry with a controlled, porous architecture for natural biomaterials. This study validates the potential of using freeze‐drying for development of organ‐specific scaffold geometries for tissue engineering applications, which up until now might not have been considered feasible.