The influence of hydration and dynamic loading on acellular and mesenchymal stem cell-seeded Poly(vinyl alcohol) scaffolds

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have emerged as viable approaches to repairing osteochondral tissue damage. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a synthetic polymer that has received attention due to its inherent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. In this study, a range of elastic moduli was achieved for PVA scaffolds by varying molecular weight and concentration. Degradation studies of hydrated scaffolds showed no acceleration of mass or moduli degradation for scaffolds loaded in compression versus free swelling. However, upon hydration of scaffolds in water, mass and modulus recovery was observed, with the most significant recovery occurring for the stiffer gels. Furthermore, upon seeding PVA scaffolds with human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), an initial drop in modulus was still observed for both dynamically compressed and free swelling groups. Based on these findings, studies will be conducted to investigate the mechanotransduction response of cells to dynamic loading up to two weeks by examining cell adhesion, migration and proliferation.