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Updated: May 4, 2026
Engineering 3D Cellularized Collagen Gels for Vascular Tissue Regeneration
Published on: June 16, 2015
Collagen-Based Substrates with Tunable Strength for Soft Tissue Engineering
Vivek A Kumar1, Jeffrey M Caves2, Carolyn A Haller2
1Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215 ; Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering of Harvard University, Boston, MA 02215 ; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332.
Abstract:
Through the use of mechanical reinforcement of collagen matrices, mechanically strong and compliant 3D tissue mimetic scaffolds can be generated that act as scaffolds for soft tissue engineering. Collagen has been widely used for the development of materials for repair, augmentation or replacement of damaged or diseased tissue. Herein we describe a facile method for the layer-by-layer fabrication of robust planar collagen fiber constructs. Collagen gels cast in a phosphate buffer were dried to form dense collagen mats. Subsequent gels were layered and dried atop mats to create multilayer constructs possessing a range of tunable strengths (0.5 - 11 MPa) and stiffness (1 - 115 MPa). Depending on processing conditions and crosslinking of constructs, strain to failure ranged between 9 to 48%. Collagen mats were constructed into hernia patches that prevented hernia recurrence in Wistar rats.
