Smooth muscle tissue engineering for hybrid tubular organs: scanning electron microscopic investigations of cell interactions with collagen scaffolds

Tissue engineering of transplantable tubular tissue necessitates a composite approach to assembling the individual components. In the engineering of tubular structures (gastrointestinal, urogenital and vascular tissues) there is a demand for smooth muscle tissue in addition to the primary organ‐specific tissue. This study aims to investigate the interaction of smooth muscle cells on bovine collagen scaffolds cross‐linked with glutaraldehyde under in vitro conditions, using scanning electron microscopy. The density of tissue generated over the 8 week period was demonstrated in terms of: (a) scaffold coverage and attachment; (b) cell density; (c) cell viability deep inside the scaffolds; and (d) cell differentiation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.