Issue 12, 2024

Tunable biomimetic materials elaborated by ice templating and self-assembly of collagen for tubular tissue engineering

Abstract

Synthetic tubular grafts currently used in clinical context fail frequently, and the expectations that biomimetic materials could tackle these limitations are high. However, developing tubular materials presenting structural, compositional and functional properties close to those of native tissues remains an unmet challenge. Here we describe a combination of ice templating and topotactic fibrillogenesis of type I collagen, the main component of tissues’ extracellular matrix, yielding highly concentrated yet porous tubular collagen materials with controlled hierarchical architecture at multiple length scales, the hallmark of native tissues’ organization. By modulating the thermal conductivity of the cylindrical molds, we tune the macroscopic porosity defined by ice. Coupling the aforementioned porosity patterns with two different fibrillogenesis routes results in a new family of tubular materials whose textural features and the supramolecular arrangement of type I collagen are achieved. The resulting materials present hierarchical elastic properties and are successfully colonized by human endothelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells on the luminal side, and by human mesenchymal stem cells on the external side. The proposed straightforward protocol is likely to be adapted for larger graft sizes that address ever-growing clinical needs, such as peripheral arterial disease or tracheal and bronchial reconstructions.

Graphical abstract: Tunable biomimetic materials elaborated by ice templating and self-assembly of collagen for tubular tissue engineering

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Nov 2023
Accepted
05 May 2024
First published
06 May 2024

Biomater. Sci., 2024,12, 3124-3140

Tunable biomimetic materials elaborated by ice templating and self-assembly of collagen for tubular tissue engineering

I. Martinier, F. Fage, A. Kakar, A. Castagnino, E. Saindoy, J. Frederick, I. Onorati, V. Besnard, A. I. Barakat, N. Dard, E. Martinod, C. Planes, L. Trichet and F. M. Fernandes, Biomater. Sci., 2024, 12, 3124 DOI: 10.1039/D3BM01808C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements