Manufacturing micropatterned collagen scaffolds with chemical-crosslinking for development of biomimetic tissue-engineered oral mucosa

This study aimed to develop biomimetic tissue-engineered oral mucosa using micropatterned collagen scaffolds. Fifteen negative molds with varying dimensions and aspect ratios were created using MEMS and soft lithography to generate 3D micropatterns on fish-scale type I collagen scaffolds. Chemical crosslinking with EDC improved the scaffolds' mechanical properties. Histological evaluation showed that grid-type micropatterns were better preserved than pillar-type, supporting epithelial regeneration and rete ridge-like structure formation. The micropatterned collagen scaffolds show promise for both intraoral and extraoral grafting.

Ayako Suzuki, Yoshihiro Kodama, Keito Miwa, Kazuma Kishimoto, Emi Hoshikawa, Kenta Haga, Taisuke Sato, Jun Mizuno, Kenji Izumi