Biofabrication of Cell-Decorated Telocollagen Fibers of Extraordinary Strength for Regenerative Tendon and Myotendinous Junction Repair
Abstract
Musculoskeletal tissue injuries, including those occurring at the myotendinous junction (MTJ), are the leading cause for medical encounters for warfighters. Nonsurgical treatments and leading clinical repair scaffolds have significant limitations. To address this need, we developed a novel biomanufacturing, or 3D bioprinting, approach to produce strong, cellular, living biomimetic grafts. Our bioprinting process utilizes strong clinical grade collagen microfibers and was optimized to controllably produce grafts with designed geometries and cellular distributions throughout. Printed grafts offer excellent biocompatibility, functional architectures, high cell viability, and mechanical properties mimicking those of native tendon. In all, this technology greatly outperforms previously developed tissue engineering approaches for producing biomimetic grafts with potential to improve the repair and regeneration of musculoskeletal and MTJ tissue injuries.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1152636
Entities
People
- Kyle Christensen
- Michael Francis
- Nardos Sori
- Yas Maghdouri-White