The Influence of Manufacturing Method and Collagen on the Mechanical Performance of Sodium Alginate-Based Scaffolds for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Cartilage has limited ability to repair itself making it a good candidate for artificial tissue replacements. Hydrogels such as sodium alginate (SA) have been used in bioprinting and tissue engineering for their favourable properties, however, the mechanical performance of engineered tissue requires improvement. In the present work, the mechanical properties of pure-SA scaffolds were compared with various crosslinking and manufacturing protocols. The results showed that increased amounts of partial crosslinking prior to scaffold fabrication significantly decreased the elastic modulus. This study also showed that the addition of collagen and gelatin significantly decreased the elastic modulus by 42% and 31% respectively. Therefore, pure-SA scaffolds exhibited the most favourable properties with a compressive elastic modulus up to 35.29 kPa and a permeability of 0.3933 x10^-14 m^4/Ns. This study found higher stiffness compared to previous studies, likely due to extended post-print crosslinking time, however additives such as collagen and gelatin decreased the properties.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Engineering, Mechanical

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Lavallee, Aaryn Victoria

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2024 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2024-16052

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/41432