Primary rat hepatocytes are a widely used experimental model to estimate drug metabolism and toxicity. In currently used two-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems, typical problems like morphological changes and the loss of liver cell-specific functions occur. We hypothesize that the use of polymer scaffolds could overcome these problems and support the establishment of three-dimensional (3D) c...

INTRODUCTION: Over sixty million Americans currently suffer from diagnosed osteoarthritis (OA). Because articular cartilage has a limited capacity for self-renewal, the ultimate remedy for many patients with OA is a total joint replacement. As the population lives longer, more active lives, many patients will outlive their prostheses. Tissue engineering offers the promise of tissue regeneration...

Electrospun micro- and nanofibrous poly(glycerol sebacate)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PGS-PCL) substrates have been extensively used as scaffolds for engineered tissues due to their desirable mechanical properties and their tunable degradability. In this study, we fabricated micro/nanofibrous scaffolds from a PGS-PCL composite using a standard electrospinning approach and then coated them with silve...

The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) rendered the reprogramming of terminally differentiated cells to primary stem cells with pluripotency possible and provided potential for the regeneration and restoration of cartilage defect. Chondrogenic differentiation of iPSCs is crucial for their application in cartilage tissue engineering. In this study we investigated the effect of 3...

Aligned nanofibrous scaffolds hold tremendous potential for the engineering of dense connective tissues. These biomimetic micropatterns direct organized cell-mediated matrix deposition and can be tuned to possess nonlinear and anisotropic mechanical properties. For these scaffolds to function in vivo, however, they must either recapitulate the full dynamic mechanical range of the native tissue ...

Osteoblast maturation plays a key role in regulating osteogenesis. Electrospun nanofibrous products were reported to possess a high surface area and porosity. In this study, we developed chitosan nanofibers and examined the effects of nanofibrous scaffolds on osteoblast maturation and the possible mechanisms. Macro- and micro observations of the chitosan nanofibers revealed that these nanoprodu...

Among the synthetic polymers, poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) microbial polyester is one of the biocompatible and biodegradable copolymers in the nanomedicine scope. PHBV has key points and suitable properties to support cellular adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of nanofibers. Nanofibers are noticeably employed in order to enhance the performance of biomaterials,...

In living systems, extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a pivotal role in controlling cell behavior [1]. One of the most significant objectives in tissue engineering is to design and obtain scaffolds with the ability of biomimicking natural ECM in chemical compositions, physical structure, and biological functions [2,3]. Natural ECM is composed of a cross-linked porous network of multifibril collag...