Towards high throughput tissue engineering: development of chitosan-calcium phosphate scaffolds for engineering bone tissue from embryonic stem cells
Date
2012-01-01
Authors
Ko, Junghyuk
Kolehmainen, Kathleen
Ahmed, Farid
Jun, Martin B. G
Willerth, Stephanie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Journal of Stem Cells
Abstract
Tissue engineering strategies have shown promise for the repair of damaged organs, including bone. One of
the major challenges associated with tissue engineering is how to scale up such processes for high throughput manufacturing
of biomaterial scaffolds used to support stem cell culture. Generation of certain types of 3D biomaterial
scaffolds, including chitosan-calcium phosphate blends, involves a slow fabrication process followed by a lengthy
required freeze drying step. This work investigates the use of automated microwave vacuum drying technology as an
alternative to traditional freeze drying as a method of fabricating chitosan-calcium phosphate scaffolds for supporting
embryonic stem cell cultures. Scaffolds produced using both drying techniques possess similar properties when characterized
using scanning electron microscopy and this paper is the first to report that both types of these scaffolds
support undifferentiated embryonic stem cell culture as well as promote stem cell differentiation into osteogenic lineages
when treated with the appropriate factors. Compared to existing scaffold manufacturing processes using freeze
drying, the use of microwave vacuum drying will lead to faster production times while reducing the costs, enabling
high-throughput manufacturing of biomaterial scaffolds for stem cell applications.
Description
Keywords
Regenerative medicine, embryonic stem cells, osteogenesis, biomaterials, composites
Citation
Ko, J. et al Towards high throughput tissue engineering. Am J Stem Cell 2012;1(1):81-89