Abstract
A novel approach to produce artificial bone composites (microfibers) with distinctive features mimicking natural tissue was investigated. Currently proposed inorganic materials (e.g. apatite matrixes) lack self-assembly and thereby limit interactions between cells and the material. The present work investigates the feasibility of creating "bio-inspired materials" specifically designed to overcome certain limitations inherent to current biomaterials. We examined the dimensions, morphology, and constitutive features of a composite hydrogel which combined an alginate based microfiber with a gelatin solution or a particulate form of urinary bladder matrix (UBM). The effectiveness of the composite microfibers to induce and modulate osteoblastic differentiation in three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds without altering the viability and morphological characteristics of the cells was investigated. The present study describes a novel alginate microfiber production method with the use of microfluidics. The microfluidic procedure allowed for precise tuning of microfibers which resulted in enhanced viability and function of embedded cells.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 141-153 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Materials Science and Engineering C |
| Volume | 56 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 20 Jun 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alginate
- Microfibers
- Microfluidics
- Osteoblastic differentiation
- UBM