Volume 94A, Issue 2 p. 371-379

An improved collagen scaffold for skeletal regeneration

Serafim M. Oliveira

Serafim M. Oliveira

Department of Mechanical Engineering, ESTG-Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal

Divisao de Biomateriais, INEB-Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, 3500 Porto, Portugal

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010

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Rushali A. Ringshia

Rushali A. Ringshia

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010

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Racquel Z. Legeros

Racquel Z. Legeros

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010

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Elizabeth Clark

Elizabeth Clark

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010

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Michael J. Yost

Michael J. Yost

Department of Surgery, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208

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Louis Terracio

Louis Terracio

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010

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Cristina C. Teixeira

Corresponding Author

Cristina C. Teixeira

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010

Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology/Department of Biomaterials & Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010Search for more papers by this author
First published: 22 February 2010
Citations: 33

Abstract

Bone repair and regeneration is one of the most extensively studied areas in the field of tissue engineering. All of the current tissue engineering approaches to create bone focus on intramembranous ossification, ignoring the other mechanism of bone formation, endochondral ossification. We propose to create a transient cartilage template in vitro, which could serve as an intermediate for bone formation by the endochondral mechanism once implanted in vivo. The goals of the study are (1) to prepare and characterize type I collagen sponges as a scaffold for the cartilage template, and (2) to establish a method of culturing chondrocytes in type I collagen sponges and induce cell maturation. Collagen sponges were generated from a 1% solution of type I collagen using a freeze/dry technique followed by UV light crosslinking. Chondrocytes isolated from two locations in chick embryo sterna were cultured in these sponges and treated with retinoic acid to induce chondrocyte maturation and extracellular matrix deposition. Material strength testing as well as microscopic and biochemical analyzes were conducted to evaluate the properties of sponges and cell behavior during the culture period. We found that our collagen sponges presented improved stiffness and supported chondrocyte attachment and proliferation. Cells underwent maturation, depositing an abundant extracellular matrix throughout the scaffold, expressing high levels of type X collagen, type I collagen and alkaline phosphatase. These results demonstrate that we have created a transient cartilage template with potential to direct endochondral bone formation after implantation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 2010

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