Creation of Grooved Tissue Engineering Scaffolds from Architectured Multilayer Polymer Composites by a Tuneable...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Biomaterial surface properties critically influence biological interactions, affecting cellular responses and tissue integration.
• Surface topography is vital in cardiac tissue engineering, impacting cardiomyocyte electrical conductivity, alignment, and function.
• Existing methods for controlling scaffold topography are expensive and lack precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a cost-effective, precise method for fabricating cardiac tissue engineering scaffolds with controlled surface topography.
• To investigate the influence of tunable topographical cues on neonatal rat cardiomyocyte (NRCM) behavior.
• To establish a library of easily adjustable scaffold topographical features.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a one-step degradation process on multilayered 3D printed poly(lactic acid)/thermoplastic polyurethane (PLA/TPU) composites.
• Controlled scaffold surface morphology and erosion rate by adjusting printing parameters and degradation duration.
• Fabricated scaffolds with well-defined micro-grooves and varied multilayer dimensions.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated precise control over scaffold erosion rate and surface morphology.
• Observed a strong dependence of NRCM contact guidance on the dimensions and shape of micro-grooves in partially degraded PLA/TPU scaffolds.
• Identified optimal topographical cues (layer thickness 13 ± 2 µm, depth 4.7 ± 0.2 µm) that promoted regular NRCM contractions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed fabrication scheme enables the production of a new generation of biomaterials with tunable topographical cues.
• This method offers excellent controllability over scaffold properties through multilayer thickness, printing parameters, and degradation treatment.
• The developed technique provides a versatile platform for advancing cardiac tissue engineering applications.