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Evaluation of Poly (Carbonate-Urethane) Urea (PCUU) Scaffolds for Urinary Bladder Tissue Engineering

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Abstract

Although the previous success of bladder tissue engineering demonstrated the feasibility of this technology, most polyester based scaffolds used in previous studies possess inadequate mechanical properties for organs that exhibit large deformation. The present study explored the use of various biodegradable elastomers as scaffolds for bladder tissue engineering and poly (carbonate-urethane) urea (PCUU) scaffolds mimicked urinary bladder mechanics more closely than polyglycerol sebacate–polycaprolactone (PGS-PCL) and poly (ether-urethane) urea (PEUU). The PCUU scaffolds also showed cyto-compatibility as well as increased porosity with increasing stretch indicating its ability to aid in infiltration of smooth muscle cells. Moreover, a bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) rat model was used to test the safety and efficacy of the PCUU scaffolds in treating a voiding dysfunction. Bladder augmentation with PCUU scaffolds led to enhanced survival of the rats and an increase in the bladder capacity and voiding volume over a 3 week period, indicating that the high-pressure bladder symptom common to BOO was alleviated. The histological analysis of the explanted scaffold demonstrated smooth muscle cell and connective tissue infiltration. The knowledge gained in the present study should contribute towards future improvement of bladder tissue engineering technology to ultimately aide in the treatment of bladder disorders.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Ali Khademhosseini and Dr. Shilpa Sant, Harvard University, for supplying us with the PGS-PCL scaffolds, Dr. Yi Hong, University of Pittsburgh, for supplying us with PEUU and PCUU scaffolds, Dr. Thuy Pham and Dr. Wei Sun, Georgia Institute of Technology for assistance with biaxial testing, Dr. George Wetzel, Clemson University for assistance with the Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Mr. Chad McMahan, Clemson University, for assistance with histology. The funding for this research was provided by NIH 8P20GM103444.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

    Srikanth Sivaraman, J. Todd Purves, Francis M. Hughes Jr. & Jiro Nagatomi

  2. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Nicholas Amoroso, Xinzhu Gu & William R. Wagner

  3. Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Todd Purves & Francis M. Hughes Jr.

  4. ENRC 4614, University of Arkansas, 700 Research Center Blvd, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Srikanth Sivaraman

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  1. Srikanth Sivaraman
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  2. Nicholas Amoroso
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  3. Xinzhu Gu
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  4. J. Todd Purves
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  7. Jiro Nagatomi
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Correspondence to Srikanth Sivaraman.

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Associate Editor Jennifer West oversaw the review of this article.

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Sivaraman, S., Amoroso, N., Gu, X. et al. Evaluation of Poly (Carbonate-Urethane) Urea (PCUU) Scaffolds for Urinary Bladder Tissue Engineering. Ann Biomed Eng 47, 891–901 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-02182-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-02182-0

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