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X-ray Phase Contrast Allows Three Dimensional, Quantitative Imaging of Hydrogel Implants

  • Nondestructive Characterization of Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery
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Abstract

Three dimensional imaging techniques are needed for the evaluation and assessment of biomaterials used for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. Hydrogels are a particularly popular class of materials for medical applications but are difficult to image in tissue using most available imaging modalities. Imaging techniques based on X-ray Phase Contrast (XPC) have shown promise for tissue engineering applications due to their ability to provide image contrast based on multiple X-ray properties. In this manuscript, we investigate the use of XPC for imaging a model hydrogel and soft tissue structure. Porous fibrin loaded poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels were synthesized and implanted in a rodent subcutaneous model. Samples were explanted and imaged with an analyzer-based XPC technique and processed and stained for histology for comparison. Both hydrogel and soft tissues structures could be identified in XPC images. Structure in skeletal muscle adjacent could be visualized and invading fibrovascular tissue could be quantified. There were no differences between invading tissue measurements from XPC and the gold-standard histology. These results provide evidence of the significant potential of techniques based on XPC for 3D imaging of hydrogel structure and local tissue response.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Banu Akar and Frederick Doe for staining the samples. This work was supported by grants from the Veterans Administration, National Science Foundation (IIS-1125412, CBET-1263994) and the National Institute of Health (R01EB009715).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3255 South Dearborn St, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Alyssa A. Appel, Jeffery C. Larson, Bin Jiang & Eric M. Brey

  2. Research Service, Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL, USA

    Alyssa A. Appel, Jeffery C. Larson & Bin Jiang

  3. National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA

    Zhong Zhong

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Mark A. Anastasio

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  1. Alyssa A. Appel
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  2. Jeffery C. Larson
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  4. Zhong Zhong
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Correspondence to Eric M. Brey.

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Associate Editor Agata Exner oversaw the review of this article.

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Appel, A.A., Larson, J.C., Jiang, B. et al. X-ray Phase Contrast Allows Three Dimensional, Quantitative Imaging of Hydrogel Implants. Ann Biomed Eng 44, 773–781 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1482-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1482-5

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