Tissue engineering scaffolds glycosaminoglycans

Daamen WF et al (2003) Preparation and evaluation of molecularly-defined collagen-elastin-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds for tissue engineering. Biomaterials 24(22) 4001-4009... 

Wu and co-workers [13] incorporated copolymer poly(3HB-co-3HV) with calcium silicate(s) (CS) to increase the hydrophilicity of the copolymer in order to enhance cell adhesion on scaffolds used for cartilage tissue engineering. Interactions between poly(3HB-co-3HV)/CS composite scaffolds and chondrocytes in vitro and the formation of neocartilage were evaluated after the implantation of scaffolds into rabbits. It was found that the adhesion of chondrocytes onto the scaffolds and cell proliferation improved with the addition of CS. Enhanced penetration of chondrocytes into the scaffolds was observed with the increase in hydrophilicity of the poly(3HB-co-3HV)/CS composite scaffolds. A higher amount of collagen and glycosaminoglycan were detected in the composite scaffold compared with pure poly(3HB-co-3HV), indicating that poly(3HB-co-3HV)/CS composite scaffolds stimulated the extracellular matrix synthesis of chondrocytes. 

In order to culture cells in a 3D environment, a scaffold is required to provide both mechanical support as well as the biological cues found in the cells native environment. This role is played in vivo by the extracellular matrix (ECM), which is a mixture of structural proteins, glycosaminoglycans, and proteoglycans that surrounds the cells. The development of scaffolds for tissue engineering and 3D cell culture is therefore veiy heavily inspired by biology, since all scaffolds are essentially attempting to mimic the natural ECM, at least to some extent. 

Daamen, W.F., van Moerkerk, H.T.B., Hafmans, T., Buttafoco, L., Poot, A.A., and Veerkamp, J.H. (2003) Preparation and evaluation of molecularly defined collagen-dastin-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds for tissue engineering. Biomaterials, 24, 4001-4009. 

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