Mesenchymal Stem Cell Time to Confluence on 3D Printed, Porous, Poly(propylene fumarate) Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering
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Date
2022-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Autologous bone grafting is the standard-of-care procedure for treating bone defects above critical-size. Current research shows that a tissue engineering solution may offer a better pathway for healing bone defects. This project focuses on the union of the three pillars of tissue engineering, namely a material scaffold, cell line, and growth factors, to work towards a proper solution. Specifically, we investigate the time to confluence of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (BM-hMSCs) seeded onto 3D printed poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) scaffolds with a gyroid pore geometry. BM-hMSCs were seeded using a dropwise method onto scaffolds of two different geometries (coarse and fine) and cultured over a period of 28 days; two scaffolds were set aside and seeded using a top-down method. SEM images were collected on Day 1, 7, and 28. These images demonstrate a gradual proliferation and migration of cells over the scaffold, eventually covering all exterior struts as well as bridging the exterior pores of both the fine and coarse geometry scaffolds. The Day 28 scaffolds were sectioned across the narrow width of the scaffold and the interior was also imaged. These images displayed cell growth throughout the interior of the scaffold throughout the pore space, which can be seen for both geometries. Finally, when examining the top-down scaffolds, we note a lack of full confluence on the coarse geometry scaffold. This is an indication that the lack of even cell distribution during seeding prevents cell migration across the entire scaffold in the same time period as those seeded with the dropwise method. This data ultimately indicates the success of the dropwise seeding method and the efficacy of the use of PPF as BM-hMSC scaffolds. With this work, we look to reproduce these results with an increased time resolution and explore the ability to differentiate these cells when seeded on these scaffolds.
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bone tissue engineering, poly(propylene fumarate), cell seeding, tissue engineering, SEM imaging, tissue engineering scaffold