Development of Robotic Dispensed Bioactive Scaffolds and Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Culturing for Bone Tissue Engineering

Bioactive and degradable scaffolds made from bioactive glass-polycaprolactone with a mineralized surface and a well-defined three-dimensional (3D) pore configuration were produced using a robotic dispensing technique. Human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) were cultured on the 3D scaffolds, and the osteogenic development of cells within the scaffolds was addressed under a dynamic flow perfusion system for bone tissue engineering. The bioactive glass component introduced within the composite assisted in the surface mineralization of the 3D scaffolds. The hASCs initially adhered well and grew actively over the mineralized surface, and migrated deep into the channels of the 3D scaffold. In particular, dynamic perfusion culturing helped the cells to proliferate better on the 3D structure compared to that under static culturing condition. After 4 weeks of culturing by dynamic perfusion, the cells not only covered the scaffold surface completely but also filled the pore channels bridging the stems. The osteogenic differentiation of the hASCs with the input of osteogenic factors was stimulated significantly by the dynamic perfusion flow, as determined by alkaline phosphate expression. Overall, the culturing of hASCs upon the currently developed 3D scaffold in conjunction with the dynamic perfusion method may be useful for tissue engineering of bone.