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Development of Biologically Inspired 3D Printed Biomaterial Scaffolds for Improved Stem Cell Differentiation
Author(s) -
Zhang Lije Grace
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.87.3
Subject(s) - stem cell , extracellular matrix , 3d bioprinting , tissue engineering , biomaterial , mesenchymal stem cell , regenerative medicine , regeneration (biology) , 3d printed , cellular differentiation , microbiology and biotechnology , materials science , biomedical engineering , nanotechnology , biology , engineering , biochemistry , gene
As the most versatile and promising cell source, stem cells have been studied in regenerative medicine for a decade. However, despite their remarkable potential, one of the major challenges in successfully utilizing stem cells is the difficulty in providing proper environmental cues to regulate their self‐renewal and differentiation. While current available techniques utilizing a 2D microenvironment present easy and effective methods for investigating cell behavior in vitro, 2D culture systems fail to reflect cells’ native tissue environment. In native tissue, stem cells reside within a 3D extracellular matrix and are exposed to spatiotemporal chemical and physical cues, thus creating a biomimetic 3D tissue environment is a critical step for successfully controlling stem cell behavior. Our lab has developed advanced table‐top 3D bioprinting systems which can print 3D biomaterial constructs with precisely controlled microstructure and regional variation. Particularly, one significant component in our printing ink is biologically inspired nanobiomaterials, which can add further chemical signaling cues and mechanical strength to printed constructs. Our results show that these 3D printed scaffolds have not only improved mechanical properties but also can regulate human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell growth and differentiation, thus promising for various tissue regeneration.