In vitro evaluation of Ficoll-enriched and genipin-stabilised collagen scaffolds

Polysaccharides are frequently incorporated into scaffolds for tissue engineering applications to improve mechanical and biological properties. We evaluated the influence of a Ficoll (R) scaffold on collagen films, a scaffold that is extensively used for soft and hard tissue repair. To avoid cytotoxicity issues associated with chemical reagents, the influence of genipin, a naturally occurring crosslinking agent, was assessed. Ultra-structural level collagen films formed with and without Ficoll showed a fine fibrillar structure whereas genipin crosslinked films showed a coarse fibrillar and partially nodular structure. In contrast, glutaraldehyde crosslinked films lost their fibrillar pattern. Crosslinking significantly increased denaturation temperature (p lt; 0.001), stress (p lt; 0.0001) and force (p lt; 0.0001) at break. Collagen Ficoll and collagen Ficoll genipin films showed the highest WI38 fibroblast attachment than any other scaffold (p lt; 0.003) and significantly greater WI38 fibroblast metabolic activity than other scaffolds (p lt; 0.001). By day 6. collagen Ficoll genipin films also induced higher and more aligned fibronectin matrix deposition than other scaffolds. Overall, this study indicates the suitability of collagen Ficoll genipin for tissue engineering applications. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley amp; Sons, Ltd.