Assessment of flow within developing chicken vasculature and biofabricated vascularized tissues using multimodal imaging techniques.

Fluid flow shear stresses are strong regulators for directing the organization of vascular networks. Knowledge of structural and flow dynamics information within complex vasculature is essential for tuning the vascular organization within engineered tissues, by manipulating flows. However, reported investigations of vascular organization and their associated flow dynamics within complex vasculature over time are limited, due to limitations in the available physiological pre-clinical models, and the optical inaccessibility and aseptic nature of these models. Here, we developed laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and side-stream dark field microscopy (SDF) systems to map the vascular organization, spatio-temporal blood flow fluctuations as well as erythrocytes movements within individual blood vessels of developing chick embryo, cultured within an artificial eggshell system. By combining imaging data and computational simulations, we estimated fluid flow shear stresses within multiscale vasculature of varying complexity. Furthermore, we demonstrated the LSCI compatibility with bioengineered perfusable muscle tissue constructs, fabricated via molding techniques. The presented application of LSCI and SDF on perfusable tissues enables us to study the flow perfusion effects in a non-invasive fashion. The gained knowledge can help to use fluid perfusion in order to tune and control multiscale vascular organization within engineered tissues.

Biological and Tribological Assessment of Poly(Ethylene Oxide Terephthalate)/Poly(Butylene Terephthalate), Polycaprolactone, and Poly (L\DL) Lactic Acid Plotted Scaffolds for Skeletal Tissue Regeneration.

Additive manufactured scaffolds are fabricated from three commonly used biomaterials, polycaprolactone (PCL), poly (L\DL) lactic acid (P(L\DL)LA), and poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate)/poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEOT/PBT). Scaffolds are compared biologically and tribologically. Cell-seeded PEOT/PBT scaffolds cultured in osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation media show statistical significantly higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity/DNA and glycosaminoglycans (GAG)/DNA ratios, followed by PCL and P(L\DL)LA scaffolds, respectively. The tribological performance is assessed by determining the friction coefficients of the scaffolds at different loads and sliding velocities. With increasing load or decreasing sliding velocity, the friction coefficient value decreases. PEOT/PBT show to have the lowest friction coefficient value, followed by PCL and P(L\DL)LA. The influence of the scaffold architecture is further determined with PEOT/PBT. Reducing of the fiber spacing results in a lower friction coefficient value. The best and the worst performing scaffold architecture are chosen to investigate the effect of cell culture on the friction coefficient. Matrix deposition is low in the cell-seeded scaffolds and the effect is, therefore, undetermined. Taken together, our studies show that PEOT/PBT scaffolds support better skeletal differentiation of seeded stromal cells and lower friction coefficient compared to PCL and P(L/DL)A scaffolds.