Development of 3D printed biomimetic scaffold for tissue engineering

One of the major challenges in tissue engineering is to mimic nanoarchitecture of native collagen fibrils in human body, as well as to fabricate three-dimensional outer shape to be regenerated. Here, we introduced a novel three-dimensional (3D) fabrication method for biomimetic scaffold by combining 3D printing and electrospinning process with using biocompatible polymers. Electrospun nanofiber construct has been believed to be a promising candidate for the simulation of natural extracellular matrix (ECM) structure. The random and aligned nanofiber mats were prepared for mimicking the nanofibril ECM structure respectively in cartilage and skeletal muscle. Then, they were packed by the 3D printing process. Microscopic pore morphology and macroscopic framework could be finely tuned by 3D printing process. By culturing chondrocyte and C2C12 myoblasts on the developed scaffolds, the each scaffold showed its feasibility for the application to tissue engineering. The hybrid scaffolds containing 3D microscale framework and nanofiber mats entailed both features of mechanical support and nanofibrous topographical guide, and thus could potentially meet the requirements for practical use of tissue engineering scaffolds.