| Tissue engineering, a recent breakthrough in regenerative therapy, involves the design and fabrication of biocompatible, biodegradable, and porous polymeric scaffolds that would support cell proliferation, differentiation, and comply with the requirements of desired tissue application. The use of 2,3-dialdehyde cellulose (2,3-DAC) as a novel material for generating scaffolds has been investigated. 2,3-DAC is a biocompatible, biodegradable, and nontoxic polymer.; Porous regenerated cellulose scaffolds were fabricated by water induced cellulose precipitation and sodium chloride leaching followed by periodate oxidation to obtain 2,3-DAC scaffolds. The porosity and pore size of the membranes could be altered by varying the weight and size of the sodium chloride particles, while the degree of oxidation was varied using different concentrations of sodium metaperiodate. Both membrane fabrication and the oxidation steps were reproducible. Cell culture studies were carried out using fibroblast cells. These studies demonstrated the potential of 2,3-DAC scaffolds to support fibroblast cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. The immobilization and release of bovine serum albumin from 2,3-DAC scaffolds was investigated which served to confirm that the aldehyde sites could be used for attachment of bioactive proteins and peptides. These results suggested that 2,3-DAC is a promising biomaterial for tissue engineering applications.; 2,3-DAC scaffolds were investigated for engineering the lamina propria of human vocal fold tissue. The critical criteria were: (a) the viscoleastic shear properties of the scaffold should closely match that of the lamina propria (i.e. elastic shear modulus G', should be 1000--10,000 Pa); and (b) scaffolds should also remain biomechanically and structurally stable for a period of at least two months. To fulfill these criteria, 2,3-DAC scaffolds were fabricated by the following modified techniques: (a) acetone induced cellulose regeneration and sodium chloride leaching; and (b) gas foaming and oxidized by a novel oxidation, reduction, oxidation method. These scaffolds had viscoelastic shear properties that lie in the targeted range and they retained their structural and mechanical integrity for a period of two months. Tracheal fibroblast cells adhered, spread and maintained their differentiated functioning when cultured on modified 2,3-DAC scaffolds. These studies demonstrated that 2,3-DAC scaffolds could serve as potential scaffolds for regeneration of vocal fold lamina propria. |
