Abstract
The ability to study the gross morphological changes occurring during tissue formation is vital to producing tissue-engineered structures of clinically relevant dimensions in vitro. Here, we have used non-destructive methods of digital imaging and optical coherence tomography to monitor the early-stage formation and subsequent maturation of fibrin-based tissue-engineered ligament constructs. In addition, the effect of supplementation with essential promoters of collagen synthesis, ascorbic acid (AA) and proline (P), have been assessed. Contraction of the cell-seeded fibrin gel occurs unevenly within the first 5 days of culture around two fixed anchor points before forming a longitudinal ligament-like construct. AA+P supplementation accelerates gel contraction in the maturation phase of development, producing ligament-like constructs with a higher collagen content and distinct morphology to that of un-supplemented constructs. These studies highlight the importance of being able to control the methods of tissue formation and maturation in vitro to enable the production of tissue-engineered constructs with suitable replacement tissue characteristics for repair of clinical soft tissue injuries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1596-1607 |
Journal | Tissue Engineering Part A |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 15-16 |
Early online date | 21 May 2012 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Aug 2012 |