Collagen plays an important structural role in many natural tissues, such as ligaments and tendons. Due to its ubiquity in the human body and its commercial availability, biomaterials using collagen gel as a scaffold for an extracellular matrix are being developed as alternative treatments for soft tissue injuries [1]. The use of collagen fibers as a matrix in cell-seeded collagen gels has been shown to limit contraction of the gels as well as increase scaffold permeability and cell viability [2,3]. Additionally, it has been found that dehydration of collagen fibers increases fiber strength [4]. Therefore, investigating the effect of changing fiber shape to increase fiber surface and gel/fiber interaction is important.
Volume Subject Area:
Tissue Engineering
Topics:
Fibers,
Manufacturing,
Biological tissues,
Biomaterials,
Permeability,
Shapes,
Soft tissues,
Tendons,
Wounds
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