Huan Zhijie, Chu Henry K, Liu Hongbo, Yang Jie, Sun Dong
Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Department of Precision Machinery and Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Biomed Microdevices. 2017 Nov 13;19(4):102. doi: 10.1007/s10544-017-0245-5.
Patterning of cells into a specific pattern is an important procedure in tissue engineering to facilitate tissue culture and ingrowth. In this paper, a new type of 3D-printed scaffold utilizing dielectrophoresis (DEP) for active cell seeding and patterning was proposed. This scaffold adopted a concentric-ring design that is similar to native bone tissues. The scaffold was fabricated with a commercial three-dimensional (3D) printer. Polylactic Acid (PLA) was selected as the material for the printer and the fabricated scaffold was coated with gold to enhance the conductivity for DEP manipulation. Simulation from COMSOL confirmed that non-uniform electric fields were successfully generated under a voltage input. The properties of the scaffold were first characterized through a series of experiments. Then, preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded onto the coated scaffold and multiple cellular rings were observed under the microscope. The biocompatibility of the material was also examined and mineralized bone nodules were detected using Alizarin Red S Staining after 28 days of culture. The proposed scaffold design can enable formation of multiple ring patterns via DEP and the properties of the scaffold are suitable for bone tissue culture. This new type of 3D-printed scaffold with cell seeding mechanism offers a new and rapid approach for fabricating engineered scaffolds that can arrange cells into different patterns for various tissue engineering applications.
将细胞排列成特定模式是组织工程中促进组织培养和向内生长的重要步骤。本文提出了一种利用介电泳（DEP）进行活细胞接种和图案化的新型3D打印支架。该支架采用了与天然骨组织相似的同心圆设计。支架由商用三维（3D）打印机制造。选择聚乳酸（PLA）作为打印机材料，并在制造的支架上涂覆金以提高DEP操作的导电性。COMSOL模拟证实，在电压输入下成功产生了非均匀电场。首先通过一系列实验对支架的性能进行了表征。然后，将前成骨细胞MC3T3-E1接种到涂覆的支架上，并在显微镜下观察到多个细胞环。还检测了材料的生物相容性，并在培养28天后使用茜素红S染色检测到矿化骨结节。所提出的支架设计能够通过DEP形成多个环形图案，并且支架的性能适用于骨组织培养。这种具有细胞接种机制的新型3D打印支架为制造工程支架提供了一种新的快速方法，该支架可以将细胞排列成不同的图案以用于各种组织工程应用。
