Laser photoablation of guidance microchannels into hydrogels directs cell growth in three dimensions.

ABSTRACT: Recent years have seen rapid progress in the engineering and application of biomaterials with controlled biological, physical, and chemical properties, and the development of associated methods for micropatterning of three-dimensional tissue-engineering scaffolds. A remaining challenge is the development of robust, flexible methods that can be used to create physical guidance structures in cell-seeded scaffolds independently of environmental constraints. Here we demonstrate that focal photoablation caused by pulsed lasers can generate guidance structures in transparent hydrogels, with feature control down to the micron scale. These photopatterned microchannels guide the directional growth of neurites from dorsal root ganglia. We characterize the effect of laser properties and biomaterial p

SUBMITTER: Sarig-Nadir O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2894558 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature