Preservation of osteogenic capacity following shape memory triggering of foam and e-spun scaffolds

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have received significant attention for their potential to be applied in the development of dynamic, functional scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Recent work has employed shape memory polymers in the development of topography-changing substrates, and these studies have shown that changes in topography can direct cell alignment, cell migration, and stem cell lineage commitment. Additional efforts have focused on expanding these strategies to 3D scaffolds that are capable of undergoing architecture changes under physiological conditions. Such shape changing scaffolds show promise for regenerative medicine applications, but it remains unknown whether shape memory actuated changes in 3D architecture have detrimental effect on the differentiation capacity of stem cells resident in the scaffold during the change. In this study, we investigated the effect of architectural changes in 3D foams and fiber mats on the osteogenic capacity of human adipose-derived stem cells. The results demonstrate osteogenic capacity to be preserved following shape memory triggering, with no reduction in osteogenesis compared to a static control.