New Approaches to Scaffold Biocompatibility Assessment

Abstract

At the present day, the biocompatibility assessment of tissue engineering scaffolds and implants is an important issue in regenerative medicine. The present study aims to defining changes of skin microcirculation parameters in the area above scaffold implantation and using them as the criteria of dynamic estimation of biocompatibility. The experiment was performed and statistically approved with 45 white rats. The animals were exposed to subcutaneous scaffold implantation with both biocompatible and non-biocompatible scaffolds (polycaprolactone scaffolds and polycaprolactone scaffolds with adsorbed foreign protein respectively). Skin microcirculation changes in the above-scaffold area were estimated using Laser Doppler flowmetry. The investigation of morphological changes occurred after the implantation was also performed. It has been found that the dynamics of microcirculatory changes correlate with the intensity of the inflammatory reaction occurring in the tissues after scaffold implantation. These facts substantiate the use of tissue perfusion as the criteria of scaffold biocompatibility assessment in subcutaneous implantation tests. The potential and future prospects of non-invasive assessment of biocompatibility by Laser Doppler flowmetry for the optimization of scaffold biocompatibility assessment in subcutaneous implantation tests have received detailed explanation.