Collagen Scaffolds Incorporating Coincident Gradations of Instructive Structural and Biochemical Cues for Osteotendinous Junction Engineering

Abstract

A fully 3D biomaterial containing overlapping gradations of structural, compositional, and biomolecular cues as seen in native orthopedic interfaces is described for the first time. A multi-compartment collagen scaffold is created for engineering tendon-bone junctions connected by a continuous interface that can induce spatially specific MSC differentiation down tenogenic and osteogenic lineages without the use of differentiation media.

Keywords: bone; collagen; mesenchymal stem cells; orthopedic interfaces; tendon.