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Stiffening by Osmotic Swelling Constraint in Cartilage‐Like Cell Culture Scaffolds
Author(s) -
Offeddu Giovanni S.,
Tanase Constantin E.,
Toumpaniari Sotiria,
Oyen Michelle L.,
Cameron Ruth E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201800247
Subject(s) - scaffold , cartilage , composite number , swelling , chondrocyte , materials science , composite material , stiffening , biomedical engineering , chemistry , anatomy , engineering , medicine
Cartilage wounds result in chronic pain and degradation of the quality of life for millions of people. A synthetic cellular scaffold able to heal the damage by substituting the natural tissue is of great potential value. Here, it is shown for the first time that the unique interplay between the molecular components of cartilage can be reproduced in composite materials made of a polyelectrolyte hydrogel embedding a collagen scaffold. These composites possess a mechanical response determined by osmotic and electrostatic effects, comparable to articular cartilage in terms of elastic modulus, time‐dependent response, and permeability to interstitial fluid flow. Made entirely from biocompatible materials, the cartilage‐like composite materials developed permit 3D culture of chondrocyte‐like cells through their microporosity. The biomimetic materials presented here constitute an entirely new class of osmotically stiffened composites, which may find use outside of biomedical applications.