Novel method to improve vascularization of tissue engineered constructs with biodegradable fibers.

Tissue engineered grafts lack adequate vascularization and suffer from poor perfusion in vivo curtailing clinical application. Improving vascularization in any tissue implants would hence increase their survivability and treatment efficacy. Many prevascularization strategies established to date involves the angiogenic induction of endothelial progenitor cells in thick tissue engineered scaffolds to obtain vascularization.

A 3D biomimetic model of tissue stiffness interface for cancer drug testing.

Contrary to oversimplified preclinical drug screens that derive treatment responses of cancer cells grown on plastic cell culturing surfaces, the actual in vivo scenario for cancer cell invasion is confronted with a diversity of tissue stiffness. After all, the packing of organs and tissues in the body translates to the abundant presence of tissue stiffness interfaces. The invasive dissemination of cancer cells in vivo might be encouraged by favorable tissue stiffness gradients, likely explaining the preferential spread of cancer cells which is subjective to the cancer type and origin of the primary site.

Induction of myogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells cultured on Notch agonist (Jagged-1) modified biodegradable scaffold surface.

Engineered scaffold surface provides stem cells with vital cues that could determine the eventual fate of stem cells. In this work, biodegradable poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) scaffold conjugated with Notch agonist-Jagged-1(JAG) peptide (2.1 kDa) was prepared to initiate myogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs).