Page 492 - IJB-10-1

International Journal of Bioprinting Endothelial monolayer formation on scaffolds

Figure 4. Fibrin coating on the scaffold and statistical evaluation of the pore size with and without coating. Fibrin was antibody-stained and microscopically
evaluated (A). Fibrin was detected using a fibrinogen-antibody, labeled in red, and the phase-contrast picture is indicated in gray. The microscopic
characterization of the resulting pore size was carried out by measuring the size of the visible pores (B). For comparison, the pore size distribution of
uncoated scaffolds is shown. The pore diameter was characterized by measuring five pores in ten pictures of three scaffolds each (n = 3).

Figure 5. Microscopic analyses of MES scaffolds for endothelium cultivation. MES scaffolds with chaotic pore structure (A). MES printing was performed
by adapting printing parameters from the MEW process. MES scaffolds were seeded with endothelial cells (B) and cultivated for 7 days. Cell nuclei were
stained in blue, and actin filaments were stained red after fixation. Overlay of printed MES scaffold and seeded cells (C) with visible gaps in the cell layer is
shown. The blurring in the picture was caused by the inaccuracy in the Z-stacking algorithms due to the high layer number necessary to image the whole
depth of the scaffold.
cells cultivated under static conditions (Figure 6B). Here, Cells displayed an even more elongated morphology
cells displayed a mean roundness of 0.48 ± 0.03 (n = 3) and with a decreased roundness of 0.41 ± 0.01 (n = 3) at a shear
a mean angle of 24.70 ± 0.26° (n = 3) to the flow direction stress of 10 dyn cm , while they displayed a mean angle of
-2
(Figure 6D and E). 25.77 ± 2.37° to the direction of flow. In comparison, cells

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 484 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.1111