Sharif Digital Repository

Tissue regeneration by bio-compatible/degradable scaffolds is one of the widely used approaches in the field of tissue engineering. In this study, a thermoplastic starch based nanocomposite scaffold with gradient structure was fabricated by unidirectional freeze drying method. To increase the stability of the scaffold in the aqueous media, PVA was added to starch solution. Then, the PVA and starch molecules were cross-linked by adding citric acid to the mixture. On the one hand, to improve the mechanical properties of the scaffold, and control its bio-degradability on the other, cellulose nano-fibers were employed. Also, the bioactivity of the scaffold was induced by using hydroxyapatite... 

In this work, we have used a 3D printer and unidirectional ice-templating technique in conjunction, to fabricate a novel composite scaffold to facilitate local osteochondral defects tissue regeneration with a cell-free approach. Using ice-templating to induce radially-aligned porosity formation in type I bovine collagen is known to expedite host cells' migration into the scaffold which their ECM secretion shifts cellular milieu toward that of its neighboring tissue layer. We used numerical analysis to design and optimize appropriate freeze-casting mold, finding the optimum value for pin height and metal slab depth to be 4mm and 14mm, respectively. Collagen content equivalent to 2%w/v was...