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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Engineering Tendon Assembloids to Probe Cellular Crosstalk in Disease and Repair
Published on: March 22, 2024
Oxygen diffusion through natural extracellular matrices: implications for estimating "critical thickness" values in
Caroline Androjna1, Jorge E Gatica, Joanne M Belovich
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Abstract:
Oxygen is necessary for maintaining cell proliferation and viability and extracellular matrix (ECM) production in 3-dimensional tissue engineering. Typically, diffusion is the primary mode for oxygen transport in vitro; thus, ensuring an adequate oxygen supply is essential. In this study, we determined the oxygen diffusion coefficients of 3 natural ECMs that are being investigated as construct scaffolds for tendon tissue engineering: small-intestine submucosa (SIS), human dermis (Alloderm), and canine fascia lata. Diffusion coefficients were determined using a standard diffusion cell system. The ranges for each matrix type were: SIS: 7 x 10(-6) - 2 x 10(-5) cm2/s, Alloderm: 1.9 - 3.1 x 10(-5) cm2/s, and canine fascia lata: 1.6 - 4 x 10(-5) cm2/s. We used the experimental oxygen diffusivity data for these natural ECMs in a mathematical model of oxygen diffusion through a cell-seeded scaffold to estimate the critical size of cell-seeded scaffold that can be cultured in vitro.
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