Figure 3
In vitro tests (Results section: Initial tests of the scaffold). (A) SDS-PAGE images of type I collagen using 6% poly-acrylamide gel to examine the purification of collagen extracts. Lane a: molecular marker, lane b: bovine collagen. (B) Histologic section of the constructs after 20Â days of cell culture. The proliferating fibroblasts are infiltrated to the implant and proliferated. (C-E) Cell viability was determined by live/dead cell assay using fluorescein diacetate (live) and propidium iodide (dead). (C-E) shows day 5, 10 and 20 after cell seeding. Almost all of the fibroblasts are green, indicating the cells are live. The lack of Propidium iodide stained dead cells (red) supports the idea that normal rat fibroblasts have attached to the scaffold and that the majority of the cells are viable. (F&G) Surface and inside of the collagen implant after 20Â days of cell seeding, respectively. The cells proliferated (arrows) and produced matrix.