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Winner of the Young Investigator Award of the Society for Biomaterials (USA) for 2016, 10th World Biomaterials Congress, May 17–22, 2016, Montreal QC, Canada: Aligned microribbon‐like hydrogels for guiding three‐dimensional smooth muscle tissue regeneration
Author(s) -
Lee Soah,
Tong Xinming,
Han LiHsin,
Behn Anthony,
Yang Fan
Publication year - 2016
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.35662
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , gelatin , scaffold , tissue engineering , nanofiber , materials science , biomedical engineering , nanotechnology , extracellular matrix , matrix (chemical analysis) , adhesion , biophysics , chemistry , composite material , polymer chemistry , biology , medicine , biochemistry
Smooth muscle tissue is characterized by aligned structures, which is critical for its contractile functions. Smooth muscle injury is common and can be caused by various diseases and degenerative processes, and there remains a strong need to develop effective therapies for smooth muscle tissue regeneration with restored structures. To guide cell alignment, previously cells were cultured on 2D nano/microgrooved substrates, but such method is limited to fabricating 2D aligned cell sheets only. Alternatively, aligned electrospun nanofiber has been employed as 3D scaffold for cell alignment, but cells can only be seeded post fabrication, and nanoporosity of electrospun fiber meshes often leads to poor cell distribution. To overcome these limitations, we report aligned gelatin‐based microribbons (µRBs) as macroporous hydrogels for guiding smooth muscle alignment in 3D. We developed aligned µRB‐like hydrogels using wet spinning, which allows easy fabrication of tissue‐scale (cm) macroporous matrices with alignment cues and supports direct cell encapsulation. The macroporosity within µRB‐based hydrogels facilitated cell proliferation, new matrix deposition, and nutrient diffusion. In aligned µRB scaffold, smooth muscle cells showed high viability, rapid adhesion, and alignment following µRB direction. Aligned µRB scaffolds supported retention of smooth muscle contractile phenotype, and accelerated uniaxial deposition of new matrix (collagen I/IV) along the µRB. In contrast, cells encapsulated in conventional gelatin hydrogels remained round with matrix deposition limited to pericellular regions only. We envision such aligned µRB scaffold can be broadly applicable in growing other anisotropic tissues including tendon, nerves and blood vessel. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 1064–1071, 2016.