title: Effects of fabrication on the mechanics, microstructure and micromechanical environment of small intestinal submucosa scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering.
abstract: In small intestinal submucosa scaffolds for functional tissue engineering, the impact of scaffold fabrication parameters on success rate may be related to the mechanotransductory properties of the final microstructural organization of collagen fibers. We hypothesized that two fabrication parameters, 1) preservation (P) or removal (R) of a dense collagen layer present in SIS and 2) SIS in a final dehydrated (D) or hydrated (H) state, have an effect on scaffold void area, microstructural anisotropy (fiber alignment) and mechanical anisotropy (global mechanical compliance). We further integrated our experimental measurements in a constitutive model to explore final effects on the micromechanical environment inside the scaffold volume. Our results indicated that PH scaffolds might exhibit recurrent and large force fluctuations between layers (up to 195 pN), while fluctuations in RH scaffolds might be larger (up to 256 pN) but not as recurrent. In contrast, both PD and RD groups were estimated to produce scarcer and smaller fluctuations (not larger than 50 pN). We concluded that the hydration parameter strongly affects the micromechanics of SIS and that an adequate choice of fabrication parameters, assisted by the herein developed method, might leverage the use of SIS for functional tissue engineering applications, where forces at the cellular level are of concern in the guidance of new tissue formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia; CEIBA Complex Systems Research Center, Bogota 111711, Colombia. Electronic address: dm.sanchez310@uniandes.edu.co.
authors.forename: Diana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Palencia
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3110, USA; RiMED Foundation, Palermo 90133, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Chimica, Gestionale, Informatica Meccanica (DICGIM), Universita' di Palermo, Palermo 90128, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Amore
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Mancera
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3110, USA; Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 15213, PA, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 15261, PA, USA.
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia; CEIBA Complex Systems Research Center, Bogota 111711, Colombia.
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Briceño
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000502:physiology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000502:physiology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen
keywords: Constitutive modeling; Mechanical properties; Microstructure; SIS (small intestine submucosa); Scaffold