Abstract

Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Cellularized Poly-(lactic acid) Constructs for Bone Tissue Engineering

Vera Guduric, Researcher, University of Bordeaux, France

Bone Tissue Engineering (BTE) requires tissue-specific cells and a porous biocompatible scaffold to support cell proliferation and differentiation. Rapid prototyping technique allows fabrication of custom-made 3D scaffolds with high resolution. Layer-by-Layer (LBL) microfabrication is based on assembly of small seeded blocks. The aim of this work was to evaluate proliferation and differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells (HBMSCs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in 2D and 3D using a LBL assembly of cellularized polylactic acid (PLA) membranes. PLA membranes were fabricated by direct 3D printing. HBMSCs and EPCs were seeded onto membranes as mono- and co-cultures in aim to perform experiments in 2D (1 seeded membrane) and 3D (LBL constructs). 2D experiments have shown high cell viability on PLA during 21 days as well as adequate morphology of seeded cells. Early osteoblastic and endothelial differentiations were observed after 14 days. Cell proliferation was increased in all experiments after 7 days. The migration of EPCs between layers of LBL constructs was observed as well as an osteoblastic differentiation of HBMSCs. These results indicate that LBL approach could be suitable for BTE, in order to promote homogenous cell distribution inside the scaffold and gene expression specific to the cells implanted.