Design and characterization of a biodegradable composite scaffold for ligament tissue engineering

Herein we report on the development and characterization of a biodegradable composite scaffold for ligament tissue engineering based on the fundamental morphological features of the native ligament. An aligned fibrous component was used to mimic the fibrous collagen network and a hydrogel component to mimic the proteoglycan-water matrix of the ligament. The composite scaffold was constructed from cell-adherent, base-etched, electrospun poly(epsilon-caprolactone-co-D,L-lactide) (PCLDLLA) fibers embedded in a noncell-adherent photocrosslinked N-methacrylated glycol chitosan (MGC) hydrogel seeded with primary ligament fibroblasts. Base etching improved cellular adhesion to the PCLDLLA material. Cells within the MGC hydrogel remained viable (72 +/- 4%) during the 4-week culture period. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed ligament ECM markers collagen type I, collagen type III, and decorin organizing and accumulating along the PCLDLLA fibers within the composite scaffolds. On the basis of these results, it was determined that the composite scaffold design was a viable alternative to the current approaches used for ligament tissue engineering and merits further study.