Reinventing fibrin: Development of angiogenic tissue engineered scaffolding

The ability of a tissue engineered scaffold to promote and support angiogenesis is a key factor for a construct's survival and integration into the host. Ultimately, the success or failure of an implant will depend on its ability to connect with existing vasculature in order to supply nutrients and gas exchange to colonizing cells within the implant. The research presented in this dissertation presents the modification of a common tissue engineering biopolymer, fibrin, in a way that has never before been done. Instead of using low concentration fibrin as a medium to entrap cells, we present method to use fibrin in high concentrations to form a open, micro-porous interconnected network with specific controllable dimensions. This open network of fibrin is degradable by enzymatic means, has controllable mechanical properties, and supports cell growth and proliferation. Typical fibrin preparations degrade quickly in the presence of cells, but our ethanol treated fibrin preparations have shown to withstand degradation for greater than 4 weeks both in-vitro and in-vivo. We also present evidence of micro-porous fibrin scaffolding's ability to support new tissue formation in-vivo with a high degree of angiogenesis in the area of newly formed tissue.