CONTROLLING A CELLULAR NICHE IN SCAFFOLD DESIGNS FOR EPITHELIAL TISSUE ENGINEERING - Intelligent Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine - page 474

Figure 24.2. Macroprouscellulosichydrogels.(aandb)SEMmicrographs
of scaffolds in the dry state; scale bar: 100 μ m. (b) The nanofeature of a
scaffold; scale bar: 1 μ m. (c) Confocal micrograph of a hydrated scaffold;
scale bar: 100 m. (d) Masson's trichrome staining of scaffolds after subcu-

taneousimplantationfor4wk,showingcollageninblue;cytoplasm,muscle,
anderythrocytesinred;andnucleiinblack.*highlightstheporousscaffold.
Scale bar: 50

μ

μ

m. The implant integrates with surrounding tissue, showing
minimal foreign-body response and blood vessel formation with erythro-
cytes around. Abbreviation : SEM, scanning electron microscopy. See also
Color Insert.

taking account of the important considerations discussed in pre-
vious sections for scaffold design (Fig. 24.2). The scaffolds exhibit
combined macro- and nanofeatures, interconnected macroporous
structures in hydrated states, with controlled mechanical integrity
to soft tissues. Subcutaneous implantation shows integration with
surrounding tissue with minimal foreign-body response. In addi-
tion, their surface chemistry allows facile introduction of ECM
cues to regulate cell-cell and cell-cell matrix interactions and
biodegradation profiles. These macroporous hydrogels can be