Anisotropically aligned 3D collagen scaffolds for neural tissue engineering
Nakwon Choi
Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)
nakwon.choi@kist.re.kr
Abstract
In native tissues, cellular and acellular components are anisotropically organized and often aligned in specific directions, providing structural and mechanical properties for actuating biological functions. Thus, engineering alignment not only allows for emulation of native tissue structures but might also enable implementation of specific functionalities. However, achieving desired alignment is challenging, especially in three-dimensional constructs. By exploiting the elastomeric property of polydimethylsiloxane and fibrillogenesis kinetics of collagen, here we introduce a simple yet effective method to assemble and align fibrous structures in a multi- modular three-dimensional conglomerate. Applying this method, we have reconstructed the CA3–CA1 hippocampal neural circuit three-dimensionally in a monolithic gel, in which CA3 neurons extend parallel axons to and synapse with CA1 neurons. Furthermore, we show that alignment of the fibrous scaffold facilitates the establishment of functional connectivity. This method can be applied for reconstructing other neural circuits or tissue units where anisotropic organization in a multi-modular structure is desired.
Short Bio
Nakwon Choi is Principal Researcher at Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Seoul National University in 2004, and later M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Cornell University in 2008 and 2010. He continued at Cornell University as a postdoctocal associate. Then, he moved to Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a NIBR presidential postdoctoral fellow. Since 2012, he has started his laboratory at KIST and been focusing on developing enabling technology platforms such as 3D neural culture models.