Bacterial Cellulose as a Potential Scaffold for Tissue Engineering of Cartilage
Journal article, 2005

Tissue constructs for cartilage with native mechanical properties have not been described to date. To address this need the bacterial cellulose (BC) secreted by Gluconacetobacter xylinus (= Acetobacter xylinum) was explored as a novel scaffold material due to its unusual material properties and degradability. Native and chemically modified BC materials were evaluated using bovine chondrocytes. The results indicate that unmodified BC supports chondrocyte proliferation at levels of approximately 50% of the collagen type II substrate while providing significant advantages in terms of mechanical properties. Compared to tissue culture plastic and calcium alginate, unmodified BC showed significantly higher levels of chondrocyte growth. Chemical sulfation and phosphorylation of the BC, performed to mimic the glucosaminoglycans of native cartilage, did not enhance chondrocyte growth while the porosity of the material did affect chondrocyte viability. The BC did not induce significant activation of proinflammatory cytokine production during in vitro macrophage screening. Hence, unmodified BC was further explored using human chondrocytes. TEM analysis and RNA expression of the collagen II from human chondrocytes indicated that unmodified BC supports proliferation of chondrocytes. In addition, ingrowth of chondrocytes into the scaffold was verified by TEM. The results suggest the potential for this biomaterial as a scaffold for tissue engineering of cartilage

metabolism

Cell Adhesion

Elasticity

physiology

Cartilage

Chondrocytes

Feasibility Studies

Biocompatible Materials

chemistry

methods

cytology

Cellulose

growth & development

physiology

physiology

Tissue Engineering

Cell Size

cytology

Humans

Animals

Cattle

Materials Testing

Cell Survival

Gluconacetobacter xylinus

Articular

chemistry

Tensile Strength

Cell Differentiation

Compressive Strength

Cell Proliferation

Author

Anna Svensson

Chalmers

Tufts University

Elin Nicklasson

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Polymer Technology

Tim Harrah

Tufts University

B Panilaitis

Tufts University

David Kaplan

Tufts University

Mats Brittberg

University of Gothenburg

Paul Gatenholm

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Polymer Technology

Biomaterials

0142-9612 (ISSN) 18785905 (eISSN)

Vol. 26 4 419-431

Subject Categories

Other Materials Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.biomaterials.2004.02.049

More information

Latest update

9/10/2018