A hierarchically ordered compacted coil scaffold for tissue regeneration

Abstract

AbstractHierarchically ordered scaffold has a great impact on cell patterning and tissue engineering. The introduction of controllable coils into a scaffold offers an additional unique structural feature compared to conventional linear patterned scaffolds and can greatly increase interior complexity and versatility. In this work, 3D coil compacted scaffolds with hierarchically ordered patterns and tunable coil densities created using speed-programmed melt electrospinning writing (sMEW) successfully led to in vitro cell growth in patterns with tunable cell density. Subcutaneous implantation in mice showed great in vivo biocompatibility, as evidenced by no significant increase in tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels in mouse serum. In addition, a lumbar vertebra was successfully printed for mesenchymal stem cells to grow in the desired pattern. A long-range patterned matrix composed of programmable short-range compacted coils enabled the design of complex structures, e.g., for tailored implants, by readily depositing short-range coil-compacted secondary architectures along with customized primary design.