Hydrogel-based scaffolds have been widely used in soft tissue regeneration due to their biocompatible and tissue-like environment for maintaining cellular functions and tissue regeneration. Understanding the mechanical properties and internal microstructure of hydrogel-based scaffold, once implanted, is imperative in tissue engineering applications and longitudinal studies. Notably, this has been challenging to date as various conventional characterization methods by, for example, mechanical testing (for mechanical properties) and microscope (for internal microstructure) are destructive as they require removing scaffolds from the implantation site and processing samples for characterization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Synchrotron radiation computed tomography (SR-CT) holds promise for high-resolution in vivo imaging. Notably, the reconstruction of SR-CT images necessitates a large set of data to be captured with sufficient photons from multiple angles, resulting in high radiation dose received by the object. Reducing the number of projections and/or photon flux is a straightforward means to lessen the radiation dose, however, compromises data completeness, thus introducing noises and artifacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisualization of low-density tissue scaffolds made from hydrogels is important yet challenging in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). For this, synchrotron radiation propagation-based imaging computed tomography (SR-PBI-CT) has great potential, but is limited due to the ring artifacts commonly observed in SR-PBI-CT images. To address this issue, this study focuses on the integration of SR-PBI-CT and helical acquisition mode (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTissue Eng Part C Methods
November 2021
Distinguishing from other traditional imaging, synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography (SR-μCT) imaging allows for the visualization of three-dimensional objects of interest in a nondestructive and/or way with better spatial resolution, deep penetration, relatively fast speed, and/or high contrast. SR-μCT has been illustrated promising for visualizing and characterizing tissue scaffolds for repairing or replacing damaged tissue or organs in tissue engineering (TE), which is of particular advance for longitudinal monitoring and tracking the success of scaffolds once implanted in animal models and/or human patients. This article presents a comprehensive review on recent studies of characterization of scaffolds based on SR-μCT and takes scaffold architectural properties, mechanical properties, degradation, swelling and wettability, and biological properties as five separate sections to introduce SR-μCT wide applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo-dimensional (2D) material-controllable degradation under light radiation is crucial for their photonics and medical-related applications, which are yet to be investigated. In this paper, we first report the laser illumination method to regulate the degradation rate of TiCT nanosheets in aqueous solution. Comprehensive characterization of intermediates and final products confirmed that plasmonic laser promoting the oxidation was strikingly different from heating the aqueous solution homogeneously.
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