Brillouin spectroscopy: A new tool to decipher viscoelastic properties of biological scaffold functionalized with nanoscale films

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In tissue engineering, the endothelialization of vascular scaffold can be a crucial step to improve graft patency. A functional cellularization requires coating surfaces. Since 2003, our group used polyelectrolyte multilayer films (PEMFs) made of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and polystyren sulfonate to coat luminal surface of blood vessel. Previous results showed that PEMFs have remarkable effect on cellular behavior: adhesion, proliferation, differentiation. However, no method seems adapted for in vitro measurement of the viscoelastic shift after PEMFs buildup. OBJECTIVE: In this present work, we proposed to use a new analytical method based on Brillouin spectroscopy (BS) to investigate the influence PEMFs coating on vessel intrinsic viscoelasticy. METHODS: On human umbilical arteries and rabbit vessels, PEMFs were buildup and the luminal surfaces viscoelasticy were measuring by BS. RESULTS: It seems that these films do not alter dynamic functionality and BS could be an interesting method for understanding the role of the tissue architecture, the interrelation between the different structures constituting the wall and the influence of this architecture on the tissue behavior, especially with the characterized components of the different vascular wall. CONCLUSION: The ability of BS to characterize biological samples opens potential applications in tissue engineering field, especially as a tool for a better understanding of vascular diseases. © 2013 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.