Thus, "combi" tests for many types of scaffolds and properties have been developed for a "scaffoldomics" approach. However, biomaterials are commonly used in 3D scaffolds and cells behave differently when cultured in a 3D environment. Previous combinatorial approaches for screening cell-material interactions have focused on planar (2D) surfaces or films. We have developed of a suite of combinatorial screening methods for 3D scaffolds.
Chemistry, mechanics and structure of the materials have strong impact on whether cells adhere, proliferate, migrate or differentiate. Scaffold Fabrication Tutorial.pdf (6MB)Ĭombinatorial Screening: Cells respond differently to different materials.Protocol for Fabricating Salt-Leached or Gas-Foamed Scaffolds in Well-Plates: The bottom panel demonstrates how an airbrush can be aimed to easily apply nanofiber scaffolds to irregularly shaped objects constructed from different materials (metal, ceramic, rubber, wood). Īn airbrush (top left) can be used to fabricate nanofiber scaffolds (top right). Publication: Tutak W, Sarkar S, Lin-Gibson S, Farooque TM, Jyotsnendu G, Wang D, Kohn J, Bolikal D, Simon Jr CG (2013) The Support of Bone Marrow Stromal Cell Differentiation by Airbrushed Nanofiber Scaffolds.
This approach has been given a more effective name: pneumatospinning. In addition, the airbrush may be aimed to deposit the fibers onto irregularly-shaped objects, which is a capability that may have potential for directed scaffold fabrication onto devices or wounds.
Blowing polymer solution through an airbrush can produce nanofibers in a manner that is 10X faster than electrospinning. Electrospinning is a common approach for fabricating nanofiber scaffolds electrospinning, but it is slow and cannot be easily "aimed". Scaffold Fabrication: Airbrushed Scaffolds & Combinatorial Methodsĭescription: Polymeric nanofibers have shown great promise as a scaffold for tissue-engineering applications since they mimic the native nanofibrous structure of the extracellular matrix found in most soft tissues (collagen, fibrin, elastin).