A silicone fiber coating as approach for the reduction of fibroblast growth on implant electrodes.

In cochlear implant (CI) patients, an increase in electrode impedance due to fibrotic encapsulation is frequently observed. Several attempts have been proposed to reduce fibroblast growth at the electrode contacts, but none proved to be satisfactory so far. Here, a silicone fiber coating of the electrode contacts is presented that provides a complex micro-scale surface topography and increases hydrophobicity to inhibit fibroblast growth and adhesion.

Laser processing of electrospun PCL fiber mats for tissue engineering.

Purpose: Processing technologies for cutting and joining electrospun fiber mats are required to produce complex three-dimensional (3D) structures, like a scaffold for heart valve tissue engineering. The ability to bond very thin porous sheets, thus forming a stable 3D geometry, offers completely new design strategies such as organ-shaped scaffolds with void chambers inside. In this study, solvent, glue and laser bonding are compared with regard to their retention force and practicability.

Process engineering of high voltage alginate encapsulation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Encapsulation of stem cells in alginate beads is promising as a sophisticated drug delivery system in treatment of a wide range of acute and chronic diseases. However, common use of air flow encapsulation of cells in alginate beads fails to produce beads with narrow size distribution, intact spherical structure and controllable sizes that can be scaled up. Here we show that high voltage encapsulation (≥ 15 kV) can be used to reproducibly generate spherical alginate beads (200-400 μm) with narrow size distribution (± 5-7%) in a controlled manner under optimized process parameters.

A review of developments in electrospinning technology: new opportunities for the design of artificial tissue structures.

Purpose: As a technology for the production of micro- and nanostructured scaffold materials, electrospinning has gained widespread acceptance in the medical research community over the last decade. The process generates a non-woven fiber mat consisting of one continuous filament with diameters ranging from the micron to the nanometer range. Because of its similarity to the filamentous microenvironment in native tissues, it is most often used as scaffold material in tissue engineering applications.

Electrospun cellular microenvironments: Understanding controlled release and scaffold structure.

Electrospinning is a versatile technique in tissue engineering for the production of scaffolds. To guide tissue development, scaffolds must provide specific biochemical, structural and mechanical cues to cells and deliver them in a controlled fashion over time. Electrospun scaffold design thus includes aspects of both controlled release and structural cues.