TY - JOUR
T1 - Freeze-Drying as a Novel Biofabrication Method for Achieving a Controlled Microarchitecture within Large, Complex Natural Biomaterial Scaffolds
AU - Brougham, Claire M.
AU - Levingstone, Tanya J.
AU - Shen, Nian
AU - Cooney, Gerard M.
AU - Jockenhoevel, Stefan
AU - Flanagan, Thomas C.
AU - O'Brien, Fergal J.
PY - 2017/11/8
Y1 - 2017/11/8
N2 - The biofabrication of large natural biomaterial scaffolds into complex 3D shapes which have a controlled microarchitecture remains a major challenge. Freeze-drying (or lyophilization) is a technique used to generate scaffolds in planar 3D geometries. Here we report the development of a new biofabrication process to form a collagen-based scaffold into a large, complex geometry which has a large height to width ratio, and a controlled porous microarchitecture. This biofabrication process is validated through the successful development of a heart valve shaped scaffold, fabricated from a collagen-glycosaminoglycan co-polymer. Notably, despite the significant challenges in using freeze-drying to create such a structure, the resultant scaffold has a uniform, homogenous pore architecture throughout. This is achieved through optimization of the freeze-drying mold and the freezing parameters. We believe this to be the first demonstration of using freeze-drying to create a large, complex scaffold geometry with a controlled, porous architecture for natural biomaterials. This study validates the potential of using freeze-drying for development of organ-specific scaffold geometries for tissue engineering applications, which up until now might not have been considered feasible.? 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
AB - The biofabrication of large natural biomaterial scaffolds into complex 3D shapes which have a controlled microarchitecture remains a major challenge. Freeze-drying (or lyophilization) is a technique used to generate scaffolds in planar 3D geometries. Here we report the development of a new biofabrication process to form a collagen-based scaffold into a large, complex geometry which has a large height to width ratio, and a controlled porous microarchitecture. This biofabrication process is validated through the successful development of a heart valve shaped scaffold, fabricated from a collagen-glycosaminoglycan co-polymer. Notably, despite the significant challenges in using freeze-drying to create such a structure, the resultant scaffold has a uniform, homogenous pore architecture throughout. This is achieved through optimization of the freeze-drying mold and the freezing parameters. We believe this to be the first demonstration of using freeze-drying to create a large, complex scaffold geometry with a controlled, porous architecture for natural biomaterials. This study validates the potential of using freeze-drying for development of organ-specific scaffold geometries for tissue engineering applications, which up until now might not have been considered feasible.? 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
KW - collagen
KW - freeze-drying
KW - heart valves
KW - scaffolds
KW - tissue engineering
U2 - 10.1002/adhm.201700598
DO - 10.1002/adhm.201700598
M3 - Article
C2 - 28758358
SN - 2192-2640
VL - 6
JO - Advanced Healthcare Materials
JF - Advanced Healthcare Materials
IS - 21
ER -