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Application of microstereolithography in the development of three-dimensional cartilage regeneration scaffolds

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Abstract

Conventional methods for fabricating three-dimensional (3-D) tissue engineering scaffolds have substantial limitations. In this paper, we present a method for applying microstereolithography in the construction of 3-D cartilage scaffolds. The system provides the ability to fabricate scaffolds having a pre-designed internal structure, such as pore size and porosity, by stacking photopolymerized materials. To control scaffold structure, CAD/CAM technology was used to generate a scaffold pattern algorithm. Since tissue scaffolds must be constructed using a biocompatible, biodegradable material, scaffolds were synthesized using liquid photocurable TMC/TMP, followed by acrylation at the terminal ends, and photocured under UV light irradiation. The solidification properties of the TMC/TMP polymer were also assessed. To assess scaffold functionality, chondrocytes were seeded on two types of 3-D scaffold and characterized for cell adhesion. Results indicate that scaffold geometry plays a critical role in chondrocyte adhesion, ultimately affecting the tissue regeneration utility of the scaffolds. These 3-D scaffolds could eventually lead to optimally designed constructs for the regeneration of various tissues, such as cartilage and bone.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Research Laboratory Program of the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Kyungbuk, 790-784, South Korea

    Seung-Jae Lee, Hyun-Wook Kang & Dong-Woo Cho

  2. Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Kyungbuk, 790-784, South Korea

    Jung Kyu Park & Sei Kwang Hahn

  3. Department of Plastic Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 137-701, South Korea

    Jong-Won Rhie

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  1. Seung-Jae Lee
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  2. Hyun-Wook Kang
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  3. Jung Kyu Park
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  4. Jong-Won Rhie
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  5. Sei Kwang Hahn
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  6. Dong-Woo Cho
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Correspondence to Dong-Woo Cho.

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Lee, SJ., Kang, HW., Park, J.K. et al. Application of microstereolithography in the development of three-dimensional cartilage regeneration scaffolds. Biomed Microdevices 10, 233–241 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-007-9129-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-007-9129-4

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