Tissue engineering scaffolds collagen

Various electrospun nanofibers made of PCL, PCL/hydroxyapatite, polystyrene, and SF were surface-modified by air or argon plasma, resulting in an improved cell adhesion and proliferation (Venugopal et al. 2008 Prabhakaran et al. 2008 Yang et al. 2008). PCL nanofibrous scaffolds were surface-modified by a simple plasma treatment process to enhance the Schwann cell adhesion, proliferation, and interactions with the nanofibers necessary for nerve tissue formation (Prabhakaran et al. 2008). The results showed that plasma-treated PCL nanofibrous scaffolds are a cost-effective material compared with PCL/collagen scaffolds and can potentially serve as an ideal tissue-engineered scaffold, especially for peripheral nerve regeneration. 

Ding, T., Luo, Z.J., Zheng, Y, Hu, X.Y, Ye, Z.X., 2010. Rapid repair and regeneration of damaged rabbit sciatic nerves by tissue-engineered scaffold made from nano-sUver and collagen type I. Injury 41, 522-527. 

Natural polymers such as collagen, elastin, and fibrin make up much of the body s native extracellular matrix (ECM), and they were explored as platforms for tissue engineered constructs [34,47 9]. Polysaccharides such as chitosan, starch, alginate, and dextran were also studied for these purposes. Simultaneously, silk fibroin was widely explored for vascular applications due to its higher mechanical properties in comparison to other natural polymers, such as fibrin [48]. The utilization of natural polymers to create tissue-engineered scaffolds has yielded promising results, both in vitro and in vivo, due in part to the enhanced bioactivity provided by materials normally found within the human body [50]. However, their mechanical response is usually below the required values therefore, synthetic polymers have been explored to achieve the desired properties. 

A method for encapsulation of nerve growth factor in microspheres of a copolymer of lactic and glycolic acids, and incorporation of these into a polyvinyl alcohol coating to produce tissue engineered scaffolds, is presented. Adherence to, and proliferation on, porous collagen microcarriers, and extension of neurites from the cells were examined using scanning electron microscopy. 11 refs. 

Keywords Collagen, biocompatibility, biodegradabihty, forms, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery, pharmaceutical applications, wound dressing, biomaterials... 

Yunoki, S., Ikoma, T., and Tanaka J. (2010). Development of collagen condensation method to improve mechanical strength of tissue engineering scaffolds. Materials Characterization 61, 907-911. 

It is with these properties (fibronectin and cell adherent collagens) that collagenous marine sponges represent a significant potential for fnture development as bioactive tissue engineering scaffolds. 

Currently, an ester derivative of hyaluronic acid has been used as a tissue engineering scaffold [8,23,24]. Adipose precursor cells proliferated and differentiated in HA sponges [ 23,24]. Additionally, HA has been used for osteochondral repair by incorporating mesenchymal progenitor cells, which differentiate into osteoblasts and chondrocytes [8]. Furthermore, the interaction of chondrocytes embedded in HA has resulted in the expression of collagen type II, forming a tissue similar to native cartilage [23]. 

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