Variations in chondrogenesis of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in fibrin/alginate blended hydrogels.

ABSTRACT: Fibrin and alginate hydrogels have been widely used to support chondrogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) for articular cartilage and fibrocartilage tissue engineering, with each material offering distinct advantages and disadvantages. Attempting to produce a gel scaffold exhibiting beneficial characteristics of both materials, we fabricated fibrin/alginate blended hydrogels at various blend ratios and evaluated the gel morphology, mechanical properties and their support for BM-MSC chondrogenesis. Results show that when the fibrin/alginate ratio decreased, the fibrin architecture transitioned from uniform to interconnected fibrous and finally to disconnected islands against an alginate background, with opposing trends in the alginate architecture. Fibrin maintai

SUBMITTER: Ma K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3429695 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature