title: Yarn design for functional tissue engineering.
abstract: Tissue engineering requires the ability to design scaffolds with mechanical properties similar to those of the native tissue. Here, B. mori silk yarns are used as a model system to demonstrate the potential benefits and drawbacks of several textile methods used to fabricate tissue engineering scaffolds. Fibers are plied, twisted, cabled, braided, and/or textured to form several geometries with a wide range of mechanical outcomes. Predictable changes in ultimate tensile strength and stiffness are demonstrated following processing and as a function of test environment. The mechanical effects of increasing turns per inch and combining groups of fibers into higher-order yarn structures are demonstrated. Braids, one of the most commonly used textile structures, are shown to be limited by a change in stiffness following the locking-angle and therefore, potentially not the ideal structure for tissue engineering. Cabled yarns appear to allow the most flexibility in mechanical outcomes with a highly organized geometry. Twisted yarns, while more economical than cabled yarns, result in a higher stiffness and lower percent elongation at break than cabled yarns.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Room 153, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Horan
authors.forename: Adam L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Collette
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Antle
authors.forename: Jingsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gregory H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Altman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D012831:Bombyx; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D047011:Silk; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk