Fibrin: A Versatile Scaffold for Tissue Engineering Applications (original) (raw)

Objective: The field of tissue engineering deals with the creation of tissue structures based on patient cells. The scaffold plays a central role in the creation of 3-D structures in cardiovascular tissue engineering like small vessels or heart valve prosthesis. An ideal scaffold should have tissue-like mechanical properties and a complete immunologic integrity. As an alternative scaffold the use of

Tissue engineering has emerged as a new treatment approach for bone repair and regeneration seeking to address limitations associated with current therapies, such as autologous bone grafting. While many bone tissue engineering approaches have traditionally focused on synthetic materials (such as polymers or hydrogels), there has been a lot of excitement surrounding the use of natural materials due to their biologically inspired properties. Fibrin is a natural scaffold formed following tissue injury that initiates hemostasis and provides the initial matrix useful for cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Fibrin has captured the interest of bone tissue engineers due to its excellent biocompatibility, controllable biodegradability, and ability to deliver cells and biomolecules. Fibrin is particularly appealing because its precursors, fibrinogen, and thrombin, which can be derived from the patient's own blood, enable the fabrication of completely autologous s...

In cardiovascular tissue engineering approaches, efficient seeding methods are essential. To achieve this and to save time, cells can be encapsulated in gels. Combining the advantages of a gel as a cell carrier with the advantages of a fiber-based scaffold, providing structural integrity to the developing tissue, might offer several advantages. In this study, seeding by using fibrin as a cell carrier is compared to the conventional static seeding method with regard to tissue development. Seeding with fibrin resulted in less loss of soluble collagen into the medium and a more mature extracellular matrix in a shorter period of time. The use of fibrin degradation inhibitors was shown to inhibit extracellular matrix formation, although it did not hamper cell proliferation. The use of fibrin as a cell carrier to seed cells into a fiber-based scaffold may represent a promising, timesaving approach in cardiovascular tissue engineering applications.

Engineered Fibrin Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Repair Kassandra S. Thomson University of Washington, Department of Bioengineering Supervisory Committee: Dr. Michael Regnier, Bioengineering (Co-Chair) Dr. Marta Scatena, Bioengineering (Co-Chair) Dr. Cecilia M. Giachelli, Bioengineering Dr. Michael A. Laflamme, Pathology Dr. William M. Mahoney Jr., Pathology (GSR) Myocardial infarction (MI) causes significant cell loss and damage to myocardium. Cell-based therapies for treatment of MI aim to remuscularize the resultant scar, but the majority of transplanted cells do not survive or integrate with host tissue. Additionally, survival of tissue engineered constructs after implantation depends heavily on induction of a vascular response in host tissue in order to promote a quick anastomosis of the cellular graft. Scaffolds can improve cell retention following implantation, but often do little to enhance host-graft integration. Fibrin is an ideal biomaterial for cardiac tissue engineering a...