A 3D-Printed PLCL Scaffold Coated with Collagen Type I and Its Biocompatibility.

Yong He,Lijun Liu,Jianyi Xiong,Daping Wang,Li Duan,Zhaofeng Jia,Jianghong Huang,Jianquan Liu,Wei Liu,Lianxiong Guan,Wencui Li,Jielin Chen

doi:10.1155/2018/5147156

Abstract

Scaffolds play an important role in tissue engineering and their structure and biocompatibility have great influence on cell behaviors. In this study, poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) scaffolds were printed by a 3D printing technology, low-temperature deposition manufacturing (LDM), and then PLCL scaffolds were treated by alkali and coated with collagen type I (COLI). The scaffolds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porosity test, mechanical test, and infrared spectroscopy. The prepared PLCL and PLCL-COLI scaffolds had three-dimensional (3D) porous structure and they not only have macropores but also have micropores in the deposited lines. Although the mechanical property of PLCL-COLI was slightly lower than that of PLCL scaffold, the hydrophilicity of PLCL-COLI was significantly enhanced. Rabbit articular chondrocytes were extracted and were identified as chondrocytes by toluidine blue staining. To study the biocompatibility, the chondrocytes were seeded on scaffolds for 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 days. MTT assay showed that the proliferation of chondrocytes on PLCL-COLI scaffold was better than that on PLCL scaffold. And the morphology of cells on PLCL-COLI after 1-day culture was much better than that on PLCL. This 3D-printed PLCL scaffold coated with COLI shows a great potential application in tissue engineering.

Highlights

Cartilage defect caused by sports injury, inflammation, degeneration, and other reasons is a common disease in clinic
Besides the controlled macropore size, scaffold fabricated by lowtemperature deposition manufacturing (LDM) has interconnected micropores in the deposited lines due to the phase separation process, which can significantly increase the porosity of the scaffold and provide more topological cues for cells attachment [18]
The morphology and structure of PLCL, aPLCL, and PLCL-collagen type I (COLI) composite scaffolds were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (Hitachi, Japan)

Summary

Introduction

Cartilage defect caused by sports injury, inflammation, degeneration, and other reasons is a common disease in clinic. LDM, based on the principle of rapid prototyping technology, is characterized with personalized printing, simple operation, less waste, less pollution, and so on It is a green manufacturing [9,10,11]. As a synthetic polymeric material approved by the US FDA for clinical application, poly(l-lactide-co-εcaprolactone) (PLCL) has excellent mechanical properties, high plasticity, and controlled degradation rate, but its poor hydrophilicity, low biocompatibility, and acid degradation products are noted. The physical and chemical properties and biocompatibility of PLCL-COLI composite scaffolds were investigated in order to provide theoretical and experimental support for their feasibility as an ideal scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering

Experimental

Results and Discussion

Conclusions