Sodium Triple-Quantum Coherence Characterization of Scaffolds Used in Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Mrignayani Kotecha¹, Allen Ye¹, Richard L. Magin¹

Magnetic resonance characterization of engineered cartilage tissue using sodium triple quantum coherence spectroscopy (or imaging) is relatively new concept. Chondrocytes seeded in alginate beads, Scaffold free chondrocyte pellets and human mesenchymal stem cells seeded in ECM integrated collagen/chitosan based scaffolds were studied for four weeks post-cell seeding. We found that the sodium biexponential relaxation pathway of these tissue engineered constructs depends upon the scaffold properties, cell density and tissue microstructure. These finding suggests that sodium MRI can play an important role in understanding the tissue growth dynamics in cartilage tissue engineering.