Robotic dispensing of composite scaffolds and in vitro responses of bone marrow stromal cells.
The development of bioactive scaffolds with a designed pore configuration is of particular importance in bone tissue engineering. In this study, bone scaffolds with a controlled pore structure and a bioactive composition were produced using a robotic dispensing technique. A poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HA) composite solution (PCL/HA = 1) was constructed into a 3-dimensional (3D) porous scaffold by fiber deposition and layer-by-layer assembly using a computer-aided robocasting machine. The in vitro tissue cell compatibility was examined using rat bone marrow stromal cells (rBMSCs). The adhesion and growth of cells onto the robotic dispensed scaffolds were observed to be limited by applying the conventional cell seeding technique. However, the initially adhered cells were viable on the scaffold surface. The alkaline phosphatase activity of the cells was significantly higher on the HA-PCL than on the PCL and control culture dish, suggesting that the robotic dispensed HA-PCL scaffold should stimulate the osteogenic differentiation of rBMSCs. Moreover, the expression of a series of bone-associated genes, including alkaline phosphatase and collagen type I, was highly up-regulated on the HA-PCL scaffold as compared to that on the pure PCL scaffold. Overall, the robotic dispensed HA-PCL is considered to find potential use as a bioactive 3D scaffold for bone tissue engineering.
Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Lab, Department of Nanobiomedical Science & WCU Research Center, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea.
Seok-Jung
SJ
Hong
Ishik
I
Jeong
Kyung-Tae
KT
Noh
Hye-Sun
HS
Yu
Gil-Su
GS
Lee
Hae-Won
HW
Kim
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival; D003201:Computers; D004867:Equipment Design; D010012:Osteogenesis; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D012371:Robotics; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase