Tensile properties of bioactive fibers for tissue engineering applications

Cell transplantation using biocompatible, biodegradable scaffolds offers th e possibility of creating or regenerating tissue to replace organ function when deficiency arises. The role of these temporary substrates is to suppor t and guide the expanding cell culture until it becomes structurally integr ated with the host tissue. 45S5 Bioglass(R) is a 4-component, melt-derived bioactive glass, which has been approved for human clinical use by the Food and Drug Administration. The biocompatibility and biodegradability of 45S5 Bioglass(R) are long established, whereas research into its performance as an extracellular scaffold is currently under-way, In this study the tensil e strengths (93 +/- 8 and 82 +/- 14 MPa), elongation to fracture (0.7 +/- 0 .05%) and Weibull's moduli (3.0 and 3.5) of 45S5 Bioglass(R) fibers (mean d iameters 193 and 280 mu m) for tissue engineering applications are reported . The tensile strengths of the fibers are compared with those of bulk 45S5 Bioglass(R) and a range of biodegradable polymer materials currently used i n the field of tissue engineering. Aspects of glass and fiber technology re levant to the design and manufacture of extracellular ceramic scaffolds are also discussed. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.