Fibrin gels exhibit improved biological, structural, and mechanical properties compared with collagen gels in cell-based tendon tissue-engineered constructs.

ABSTRACT: The prevalence of tendon and ligament injuries and inadequacies of current treatments is driving the need for alternative strategies such as tissue engineering. Fibrin and collagen biopolymers have been popular materials for creating tissue-engineered constructs (TECs), as they exhibit advantages of biocompatibility and flexibility in construct design. Unfortunately, a few studies have directly compared these materials for tendon and ligament applications. Therefore, this study aims at determining how collagen versus fibrin hydrogels affect the biological, structural, and mechanical properties of TECs during formation in vitro. Our findings show that tendon and ligament progenitor cells seeded in fibrin constructs exhibit improved tenogenic gene expression patterns compared with their coll

SUBMITTER: Breidenbach AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4333253 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature