Title :
Engineering three-dimensional nervous tissue constructs based on fiber-gel substrates
Author :
Siriwardane, M.L. ; Pfister, B.J.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Biomed. Eng., New Jersey Inst. of Technol., Newark, NJ, USA
Abstract :
Three-dimensional (3D) nervous tissue constructs were developed using a compliant gel matrix and a fiber component for promoting contact-guided axon outgrowth. Rat embryonic (E15) dorsal root ganglion expiants (DRGs) were cultured on biodegradable poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and wet-spun type I collagen fibers embedded in soft collagen gels. Gel constructs containing fibers induced greater axon outgrowth distances with significantly more directionality along the aligned fibers. Interestingly, wet-spun type I collagen from rat tail tendon displayed a highly aligned outgrowth pattern from DRG axons suggesting potential use for peripheral nerve repair.
Keywords :
biomedical materials; cellular biophysics; gels; molecular biophysics; neurophysiology; polymers; proteins; substrates; 3D nervous tissue constructs; PLLA; axon outgrowth distance; biodegradable poly-L-lactic acid; compliant gel matrix; contact guided axon outgrowth; dorsal root ganglion expiants; fiber component; fiber-gel substrates; peripheral nerve repair; rat embryonic DRG expiants; rat tail tendon; soft collagen gels; wet spun type I collagen fibers; Biodegradable materials; Embryo; Nerve fibers; Tail; Tendons;
Conference_Titel :
Bioengineering Conference, Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE 36th Annual Northeast
Conference_Location :
New York, NY
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-6879-9
DOI :
10.1109/NEBC.2010.5458119
