Laser fabrication of multi-scale elastic 3D scaffolds

Abstract

Until recently 3D cell-culture matrices were mainly considered from a standpoint of support and guidance of cell proliferation and tissue development. The early designs of tissue engineering constructs focused on bulk properties, while disregarding individual cell environment. Current findings show that the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) extends beyond a simple structural support to regulation of cell and tissue function. Mechanical stimulation and cell interaction with the topographic cues is an important part of this regulation. Systematic studies of its underlying mechanisms in vitro rely on methods capable of creating such 3D cell-culture matrices with high reproducibility and in accordance to a defined design. Two-photon polymerization (2PP) is a method based on localized cross-linking of the photopolymers, induced by femtosecond laser pulses. High resolution of the 2PP facilitates fabrication of 3D scaffolds, which contain features at several length scales, in a single step. In this contribution our recent results on fabrication of 3D scaffolds by 2PP of novel biodegradable photoelastomers are presented. The scaffolds were seeded with different cell types, and cultured under mechanical stimuli and in static conditions. Our results emphasize the potential of the proposed method for realization of rationally engineered multi-scale 3D scaffolds.