Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology for the fabrication of scaffolds to repair/replace damaged tissue/organs in tissue engineering. This paper presents our study on 3D printed alginate scaffolds treated with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) coating and their impacts on the surface morphology and cellular response of the printed scaffolds. In our study, sterile alginate was prepared by means of the freeze-drying method and then, used to prepare the hydrogel for 3D printing into calcium chloride, forming 3D scaffolds. Scaffolds were treated with PBS for a time period of two days and seven days, respectively, and PEI coating; then they were seeded with Schwann cells (RSC96) for the examination of cellular response (proliferation and differentiation). In addition, swelling and stiffness (Young’s modulus) of the treated scaffolds was evaluated, while their surface morphology was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images revealed significant changes in scaffold surface morphology due to degradation caused by the PBS treatment over time. Our cell proliferation assessment over seven days showed that a two-day PBS treatment could be more effective than seven-day PBS treatment for improving cell attachment and elongation. While PEI coating of alginate scaffolds seemed to contribute to cell growth, Schwann cells stayed round on the surface of alginate over the period of cell culture. In conclusion, PBS-treatment may offer the potential to induce surface physical cues due to degradation of alginate, which could improve cell attachment post cell-seeding of 3D-printed alginate scaffolds.
Highlights
One aim of tissue engineering is to create functional constructs of tissue or organs by combining cells with biomaterials for applications in regenerative medicine
The fibrous structure that we observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging in 3D-printed freeze-dried alginate scaffolds agrees with the fibrous structural configuration of freeze-dried agarose hydrogel scaffolds reported by Stokols and Tuszynski [32]
This study presents the effect of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) treatment of 3D-printed alginate scaffolds on surface morphology changes of the constructs and cellular response post cell seeding
Summary
One aim of tissue engineering is to create functional constructs of tissue or organs by combining cells with biomaterials for applications in regenerative medicine. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology that can help to achieve this aim [1]. This technique allows for the deposition of biomaterials and cells in a layer-by-layer manner, creating complex and functional constructs or scaffolds with good controllability and reproducibility [2,3]. The scaffolds should possess similar mechanical properties to the host tissue to provide mechanical support for cell growth and tissue regeneration, eventually restoring the functionality of the damaged tissue [6]. From a structural design perspective, the key factors are: interconnected pores, porosity and pore size of the scaffold, which can affect cell growth, morphology and proliferation in the scaffold [5]. Biomaterials should be non-immunogenic and biodegradable and able to mimic ECM to improve the scaffold interaction with the biological systems in the host tissue
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