A Structurally and Functionally Biomimetic Biphasic Scaffold for Intervertebral Disc Tissue Engineering.

ABSTRACT: Tissue engineering offers high hopes for the treatment of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Whereas scaffolds of the disc nucleus and annulus have been extensively studied, a truly biomimetic and mechanically functional biphasic scaffold using naturally occurring extracellular matrix is yet to be developed. Here, a biphasic scaffold was fabricated with collagen and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), two of the most abundant extracellular matrix components in the IVD. Following fabrication, the scaffold was characterized and benchmarked against native disc. The biphasic scaffold was composed of a collagen-GAG co-precipitate making up the nucleus pulposus-like core, and this was encapsulated in multiple lamellae of photochemically crosslinked collagen membranes comprising the annulus fibrosus-

SUBMITTER: Choy AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4482706 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature