- "Webster, Victoria" (x)
- Search results
Search results
Show morePolarized light microscopy of mechanically aligned, electrochemically compacted collagen. Collagen molecules are isolated from skin samples and processed into a semi-viscous fluid. This fluid is then introduced into a mold between two carbon electrodes. By applying a voltage across the electrodes, a pH gradient is formed. The collagen molecules are driven into a thin sheet or thread, which can then be used as a scaffold for cell culture studies and development of engineered tissue. These scaffolds can be stretched in order to align the molecules, which in turn will induce any cells seeded on the scaffold to align. By varying the amount of stretching, varying degrees of alignment can be achieved. In the polarized light microscopy image "Order in Organic Chaos" a partial alignment of the scaffold is presented. The blue areas indicate alignment along the diagonal of the image running from the bottom left to the top right, whereas the other shades represent localized misalignment. The elliptical shapes are the result of gas bubbles, released during electrical compaction, being trapped in the sheet. By varying the time of compaction the presence of such bubbles can be limited. And so, from a vial of randomly floating molecules, ordered structures can be formed and controlled.
Show less