Workshop on the Characterization of Fiber-Based Scaffolds: Where We Are and What We Need to Move Forward

Published

May 12, 2020

Author(s)

Carl Simon Jr., Becky Robinson-Zeigler, Michael Yaszemski, Jayesh Doshi, Michael Francis, Sherif Soliman, Lexi Garcia

Abstract

As the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) industry transitions from small-scale development of prototypes for research and design purposes to large-scale production for the clinic there is a need to ensure that products are properly characterized. A critical component of many TERM products is the scaffold or biomaterial. The industry's understanding of scaffold properties and their influence on cell behavior has advanced, but our technical capability to reliably characterize manufactured scaffolds requires improvement. This need became evident at the 2013 ASTM International Workshop of Standards and Measurements for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds. In response to the key findings from that workshop, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ASTM International, BiofabUSA, and the Standards Coordinating Body (SCB) organized a workshop titled "The Characterization of Fiber-Based Scaffolds". This report provides an overview of the findings from this collaborative workshop that focused on consensus building to drive documentary standards development efforts for fiber-based scaffolds. The first finding was that, although there is a desire for the development of standard test methods for product characterization, the vast array of product applications makes it challenging to identify consensus test methods. The second finding was the need for a strategy to assess the quality of porosity and pore size measurements, a need which could potentially be ameliorated by the development of a suitable reference material. The third finding was the need for a documentary standard guide that would aid developers in the selection of test methods for characterizing fiber-based scaffolds. Finally, a fourth finding was that there are challenges with the lexicon used to describe and assess scaffolds, which at times confounded communication at the workshop. Several working groups are being formed to develop strategies to address these need

Citation

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B-Applied Biomaterials

Pub Type

Journals

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DOI Link

Keywords

standards, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering scaffold, ASTM, electrospinning

Citation

Simon Jr., C. , Robinson-Zeigler, B. , Yaszemski, M. , Doshi, J. , Francis, M. , Soliman, S. and Garcia, L. (2020), Workshop on the Characterization of Fiber-Based Scaffolds: Where We Are and What We Need to Move Forward, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B-Applied Biomaterials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.34545 (Accessed January 19, 2025)