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Mechanical characteristics of native tendon slices for tissue engineering scaffold
Author(s) -
Qin TingWu,
Chen Qingshan,
Sun YuLong,
Steinmann Scott P.,
Amadio Peter C.,
An KaiNan,
Zhao Chunfeng
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.32508
Subject(s) - tendon , materials science , scaffold , biomedical engineering , tissue engineering , ultimate tensile strength , strain (injury) , anatomy , stromal cell , composite material , medicine , pathology
Abstract The purpose of this study was to characterize the mechanical behavior of tendon slices with different thicknesses. Tendon slices of 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 μm thickness were mechanically tested. The 300 μm slices were further tested for strength and modulus after 21,000‐cycle fatigue testing under different applied strain levels (0, 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12%). The tendon slice structure, morphology, and viability of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) seeded onto the slices were also examined with histology, scanning electron microscopy, and vital cell labeling, respectively. Tendon slices 300 μm or more in thickness had similar ultimate tensile strength and Young's modulus to the intact tendon bundle. A strain of 5% or less did not cause any structural damage, nor did it change the mechanical properties of a 300 μm‐thick tendon slice after 21,000‐cycle fatigue testing. BMSCs were viable between and on the tendon slices after 2 weeks in tissue culture. This study demonstrated that, if tendon slices are used as a scaffold for tendon tissue engineering, slices 300 μm or more in thickness would be preferable from a mechanical strength point of view. If mechanical stimulation is performed for seeded‐cell preparations, 5% strain or less would be appropriate. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2012.