TY - JOUR
T1 - Mimicking the Human Tympanic Membrane
T2 - The Significance of Scaffold Geometry
AU - Anand, Shivesh
AU - Stoppe, Thomas
AU - Lucena, Monica
AU - Rademakers, Timo
AU - Neudert, Marcus
AU - Danti, Serena
AU - Moroni, Lorenzo
AU - Mota, Carlos
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the 4NanoEARDRM project, funded under the frame of EuroNanoMed III, an ERA‐NET Cofund scheme of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme of the European Commission, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, grant number OND1365231), and the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Reserach (MIUR, grant number B56H18000140001). Parts of this research have been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, FKZ: 13XP5061B. The authors thank Mr. Pratik Bachhav (BITS Pilani, India) and Dr. Ravi Sinha (Maastricht University, the Netherlands) for their assistance with graphic designing and mechanical characterization, respectively.
Funding Information:
This study was supported by the 4NanoEARDRM project, funded under the frame of EuroNanoMed III, an ERA-NET Cofund scheme of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme of the European Commission, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, grant number OND1365231), and the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Reserach (MIUR, grant number B56H18000140001). Parts of this research have been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, FKZ: 13XP5061B. The authors thank Mr. Pratik Bachhav (BITS Pilani, India) and Dr. Ravi Sinha (Maastricht University, the Netherlands) for their assistance with graphic designing and mechanical characterization, respectively.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Advanced Healthcare Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - The human tympanic membrane (TM) captures sound waves from the environment and transforms them into mechanical motion. The successful transmission of these acoustic vibrations is attributed to the unique architecture of the TM. However, a limited knowledge is available on the contribution of its discrete anatomical features, which is important for fabricating functional TM replacements. This work synergizes theoretical and experimental approaches toward understanding the significance of geometry in tissue-engineered TM scaffolds. Three test designs along with a plain control are chosen to decouple some of the dominant structural elements, such as the radial and circumferential alignment of the collagen fibrils. In silico models suggest a geometrical dependency of their mechanical and acoustical responses, where the presence of radially aligned fibers is observed to have a more prominent effect compared to their circumferential counterparts. Following which, a hybrid fabrication strategy combining electrospinning and additive manufacturing has been optimized to manufacture biomimetic scaffolds within the dimensions of the native TM. The experimental characterizations conducted using macroindentation and laser Doppler vibrometry corroborate the computational findings. Finally, biological studies with human dermal fibroblasts and human mesenchymal stromal cells reveal a favorable influence of scaffold hierarchy on cellular alignment and subsequent collagen deposition.
AB - The human tympanic membrane (TM) captures sound waves from the environment and transforms them into mechanical motion. The successful transmission of these acoustic vibrations is attributed to the unique architecture of the TM. However, a limited knowledge is available on the contribution of its discrete anatomical features, which is important for fabricating functional TM replacements. This work synergizes theoretical and experimental approaches toward understanding the significance of geometry in tissue-engineered TM scaffolds. Three test designs along with a plain control are chosen to decouple some of the dominant structural elements, such as the radial and circumferential alignment of the collagen fibrils. In silico models suggest a geometrical dependency of their mechanical and acoustical responses, where the presence of radially aligned fibers is observed to have a more prominent effect compared to their circumferential counterparts. Following which, a hybrid fabrication strategy combining electrospinning and additive manufacturing has been optimized to manufacture biomimetic scaffolds within the dimensions of the native TM. The experimental characterizations conducted using macroindentation and laser Doppler vibrometry corroborate the computational findings. Finally, biological studies with human dermal fibroblasts and human mesenchymal stromal cells reveal a favorable influence of scaffold hierarchy on cellular alignment and subsequent collagen deposition.
KW - biofabrication
KW - characterization tools
KW - computational modeling
KW - tissue engineering
KW - tympanic membranes
U2 - 10.1002/adhm.202002082
DO - 10.1002/adhm.202002082
M3 - Article
C2 - 33945239
SN - 2192-2640
VL - 10
JO - Advanced Healthcare Materials
JF - Advanced Healthcare Materials
IS - 11
M1 - 2002082
ER -