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  • Living bacterial sacrificial porogens to engineer decellularized porous scaffolds.

Living bacterial sacrificial porogens to engineer decellularized porous scaffolds.

PloS one (2011-05-10)
Feng Xu, BanuPriya Sridharan, Naside Gozde Durmus, ShuQi Wang, Ahmet Sinan Yavuz, Umut Atakan Gurkan, Utkan Demirci
ABSTRACT

Decellularization and cellularization of organs have emerged as disruptive methods in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Porous hydrogel scaffolds have widespread applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and drug discovery as viable tissue mimics. However, the existing hydrogel fabrication techniques suffer from limited control over pore interconnectivity, density and size, which leads to inefficient nutrient and oxygen transport to cells embedded in the scaffolds. Here, we demonstrated an innovative approach to develop a new platform for tissue engineered constructs using live bacteria as sacrificial porogens. E.coli were patterned and cultured in an interconnected three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel network. The growing bacteria created interconnected micropores and microchannels. Then, the scafold was decellularized, and bacteria were eliminated from the scaffold through lysing and washing steps. This 3D porous network method combined with bioprinting has the potential to be broadly applicable and compatible with tissue specific applications allowing seeding of stem cells and other cell types.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

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Agarose, Medium EEO, for molecular biology
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LB Broth (Lennox), EZMix powder microbial growth medium
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Agarose, low gelling temperature
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Agarose, low gelling temperature, Type VII-A