Flow Perfusion and Magnetic Stimulation of SPCL Scaffolds dopped with Nanosized Magnetic Particles for Tendon Regeneration

Current treatments for tendon injuries often fail to fully restore joint biomechanics leading to the recurrence of
symptoms, and resulting in a significant health problem. Since the structural organization of tendons naturally
withstands daily tensions, mechanical stimuli are known to play a pivotal role in the functionality of healthy
tendons. Flow perfusion has been used as mechanical stimulus in skeletal tissues, especially bone and cartilage, but it is still barely explored for tendon tissue engineering (TTE). Magnetic stimulus enables remote actuation for control of cellular behavior, developing functional tissues. In this work, we aimed at developing two biomimetic scaffolds for TTE focusing on aligned SPCL fiber arrangements in some cases incorporating magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). These scaffolds were seeded with human adipose stem cells (hASCs) and cultured under magnetic and flow perfusion conditions envisioning to understand the importance of these distinct stimuli in TTE strategies.