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Effect of scaffold architecture and pore size on smooth muscle cell growth
Author(s) -
Lee Min,
Wu Benjamin M.,
Dunn James C. Y.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.31816
Subject(s) - materials science , scaffold , biomedical engineering , nanotechnology , biophysics , composite material , chemical engineering , biology , medicine , engineering
Tissue engineering has the potential to replace damaged tissues and organs. Diffusion limitation of cell growth in three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds is a significant constraint in most tissue engineering applications. This study describes a scaffold architecture that improves mass transfer. Scaffolds with three different geometries of villi architecture (0.5, 1, 0.5; 0.5, 1, 1; 1, 1, 1 mm; villus diameter, height, intervillus spacing, respectively) were fabricated by indirect 3D printing technique. The ability of these scaffolds to support smooth muscle cell growth was investigated in vitro. Smooth muscle cells attached to the scaffolds uniformly after 1 day of culture, and the cell density in the scaffold with small villi feature (0.5 mm) was significantly higher as compared to that for the scaffold with large villi features (1 mm) after 14 days of culture. To evaluate the effect of scaffold pore size on cell growth, scaffolds with three different pore size ranges (50–100, 100–150, and 150–200 μm) were fabricated by the solvent casting and particulate leaching technique. Scaffold pore size did not significantly affect cell growth after 14 days of culture. Optimization in the architectural design of scaffolds provides an alternative method to improve diffusion limitation in the 3D constructs. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 2008