Lin Shengmao, Hapach Lauren A, Reinhart-King Cynthia, Gu Linxia
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0656, USA.
Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Materials (Basel). 2015 Aug 20;8(8):5376-5384. doi: 10.3390/ma8085254.
Scaffold mechanical properties are essential in regulating the microenvironment of three-dimensional cell culture. A coupled fiber-matrix numerical model was developed in this work for predicting the mechanical response of collagen scaffolds subjected to various levels of non-enzymatic glycation and collagen concentrations. The scaffold was simulated by a Voronoi network embedded in a matrix. The computational model was validated using published experimental data. Results indicate that both non-enzymatic glycation-induced matrix stiffening and fiber network density, as regulated by collagen concentration, influence scaffold behavior. The heterogeneous stress patterns of the scaffold were induced by the interfacial mechanics between the collagen fiber network and the matrix. The knowledge obtained in this work could help to fine-tune the mechanical properties of collagen scaffolds for improved tissue regeneration applications.
支架的力学性能对于调节三维细胞培养的微环境至关重要。在本研究中，建立了一个耦合纤维-基质数值模型，用于预测胶原支架在不同程度的非酶糖基化和胶原浓度下的力学响应。该支架由嵌入基质中的Voronoi网络模拟。利用已发表的实验数据对计算模型进行了验证。结果表明，非酶糖基化诱导的基质硬化和由胶原浓度调节的纤维网络密度都会影响支架行为。胶原纤维网络与基质之间的界面力学导致了支架的非均匀应力模式。本研究获得的知识有助于微调胶原支架的力学性能，以改善组织再生应用。
