Synchrotron Imaging Techniques for Bone and Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Potential, Current Trends, and Future Directions

Abstract

Biomedical imaging is crucial to the success of bone/cartilage tissue engineering (TE) by providing detailed three-dimensional information on tissue-engineered scaffolds and associated bone/cartilage growth during the healing process. Synchrotron radiation (SR)-based biomedical imaging is an emerging technique for this purpose that has been drawing considerable recent attention. Due to the unique properties of synchrotron light, SR biomedical imaging can provide information that conventional X-ray imaging is not able to capture. SR biomedical imaging techniques notably differ from conventional imaging in both physics and implementation, thus varying with regard to both capability and popularity for biomedical imaging applications. In the earlier decade, synchrotron-based imaging was used in bone/cartilage TE to characterize bone/cartilage scaffolds and tissues as well as the varying degrees of success in reconstruction. However, several key issues should be addressed through research before SR biomedical imaging can be advanced to a noninvasive method for application to live animals and eventually to human patients. This review briefly presents recent developments in this area, focusing on different synchrotron-based biomedical imaging techniques and their advantages and limitations, as well as reported applications to bone and cartilage TE. Key issues and challenges are also identified and discussed along with recommendations for future research.

3D digital anatomic angioarchitecture of the mouse brain using synchrotron-radiation-based propagation phase-contrast imaging

“…Particular attention should be devoted to the optimization of imaging conditions to image with higher resolution and lower radiation dose, and in vivo 4D dynamic imaging is needed. In summary, the presented method is promising in a broad range of life science applications, such as 3D printing (Irsen et al, 2007;Ryu et al, 2018), tissue engineering (Peyrin et al, 2007;Papadimitropoulos et al, 2008;Olubamiji et al, 2014), blood flow simulation (Adam et al, 2003;Goldston et al, 2005), drug discovery (Wallace & Janes, 2003;Wasserman et al, 2012), even in combination with SR microbeam X-ray fluorescence or SR-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy for in depth analysis.…”

Three-dimensional characterization of the microstructure in rabbit patella–patellar tendon interface using propagation phase-contrast synchrotron radiation microtomography

“…As the tendon-to-bone interface is crucial for musculoskeletal functionality, the combination of PPC-SRmCT with FTIR-I for PPTI structure and composition characterization will enhance our understanding of the complexity of the soft-tissue-to-bone interface. From a tissue engineering treatment perspective, combined imaging experiments will guide new scaffold designs and contribute to achieving a biological and functional interface repair between tendon and bone (Olubamiji et al, 2014).…”

Using synchrotron radiation inline phase-contrast imaging computed tomography to visualize three-dimensional printed hybrid constructs for cartilage tissue engineering

“…This is particularly true when the applications are advanced from in vitro to in vivo and eventually to human studies. The novel technique of SR-inline-PCI-CT enables the characterization of a variety of biomaterials in vitro and in vivo for tissue engineering applications (Olubamiji et al, 2014;Sun et al, 2011;Zhu et al, 2011Zhu et al, , 2015Zehbe et al, 2015;Izadifar et al, 2014). However, most SRinline-PCI studies have criticized its capability for delineation of fine details, instead preferring other phase-contrast-based methods, such as diffraction-enhanced imaging (Zhu et al, 2011;Sun et al, 2011;Izadifar et al, 2014).…”