A novel biofabrication modality, electrophoretic compaction with macromolecular alignment, was utilized to make collagen threads that mimic the native tendon's structure and mechanical properties. A device with kinematic electrodes was designed to fabricate collagen threads in continuous length. For the first time, a 3D-biotextile was woven purely from collagen. Mechanical properties and load-displacement behavior of the biotextile mimicked those of the native tendon while presenting a porosity of 80%. The open pore network facilitated cell seeding across the continuum of the bioscaffold. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded in the woven scaffold underwent tenogenic differentiation in the absence of growth factors and synthesized a matrix that was positive for tenomodulin, COMP and type I collagen. Up-regulation of tenomodulin, a tendon specific marker, was 11.6 ± 3.5 fold, COMP was up-regulated 16.7 ± 5.5 fold, and Col I was up-regulated 6.9 ± 2.7 fold greater on ELAC threads when compared to randomly oriented collagen gels. These results demonstrate that a bioscaffold woven by using collagen threads with densely compacted and anisotropically aligned substrate texture stimulates tenogenesis topographically, rendering the electrochemically aligned collagen as a promising candidate for functional repair of tendons and ligaments.
Keywords: Tissue engineering; cell alignment; cell differentiation; substrate stiffness anisotropy.