Collagen is the most used naturally occurring scaffold material. It’s a structural protein
ubiquitous among mammalian. The ability of collagen type I to host different cell phenotype in
vitro and its low antigenecity in vivo are well known. However, the principal drawback of collagenbased
materials consists in their low mechanical properties. For vascular tissue engineering this
represents a major limit, as the aim is to mimic the structure of a native vessel, which is known to
be resistant and viscoelastic. Moreover, vascular cells are known to be susceptible in vivo to
reorganize the matrix in which they proliferate. Therefore, the aim of this project is to study the
micro structural organization of collagen-based scaffolds, and to assess the interactions between
collagen and smooth muscle cells during regeneration. This knowledge will then allow the
development of appropriate strategies to tailor the microstructure of the scaffold and its properties.
Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were selected to study the interactions between cells and matrix
during the proliferation. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) in dry state in tapping mode and
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) in reflection mode were used to investigate the
microstructure of the scaffold. For the former technique cells were seeded on top of the collagen gel
after jellification, while for the latter, cells were embedded into the collagen gel and stained with
Rhodamine. The contact points between matrix and cells were investigated, as well as the capacity
of vascular cells to induce a structural reorganization of collagen fibrils in the scaffold.
Dynamic Culturing of Smooth Muscle Cells in Tubular Poly(Trimethylene Carbonate) Scaffolds for Vascular Tissue Engineering
