Hybrid Fabrication of Biomimetic Meniscus Scaffold by 3D Printing and Parallel Electrospinning

Fabrication of biomimetic cell microenvironment closely resembling the native tissue is critical in regenerative medicine. This paper presents a novel meniscus tissue scaffold fabricated by a hybrid additive manufacturing technology to closely resemble the natural topology of the extracellular matrix. A skeletal scaffold was 3D printed and a layer of random or aligned polycaprolactone and collagen nanofibers were embedded between two frames. A compression test was performed to study the mechanical properties of the system. Human osteosarcoma cells were cultured in the scaffold for 7 days to evaluate the effect of scaffold microstructure on cell growth. With reinforced nanofibers, the hybrid scaffold showed superior compression strength compared to 3D printed scaffold without nanofibers. The hybrid scaffold induced the cells to organize into an aligned structure. The study shows the potential of hybrid bio fabrication process to be developed as a scalable platform for biomimetic scaffolds with patterned fibrous microstructure. It will facilitate the future development of clinical solutions for musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.